Trust the Hongkies to do the right thing

Pardon me for calling them Hongkies, but it is done with no bad intention just like I called myself Sinkie. The Hong Kong govt is not going to let the top management of companies or organizations to get away with mismanagement and irresponsible conduct. They are going to make the senior management of Hong Kong’s MTR to suffer pay cuts for serious service disruptions. This is real business.

The western practice is for top management to share big bonuses when a company makes good profit but nothing happens to the pay of top management if the company flops. At the worst, they will not get their big bonuses but still some bonuses.  It is either 6 months or 24 months! The top management cannot lose or be held responsible for mismanagement. And if they are caught for major failures like the big banks, the banks will pay the fine on behalf of the top management. And the top management can continue to indulge in illegal or criminal activities with impunity. Making losses or mismanagement is a non issue or minor issue that would not hurt their pockets or their appointments.

That is how good life is in the private sector for the top management, privatise profits and socialize losses. Their compensation package is one way, how much they will get no matter how the company performed or how they mismanaged the companies. Familiar? Now the Hongkies are showing how the formula should be redesigned to make top management pay for mismanagement and failures. A word of caution. This cannot be applied in Sin City or all the top talents will run away to other bigger and better companies paying them bigger pay packages.

Compare the two approaches, which is more equitable is obvious. The crooks in top management have had it so good. They keep taking, no responsibility except how much to take, can even violate the law, and mismanagement is nothing to worry about.

This kind of approach to make top management accountable with cuts in their pay is unlikely to be put to practice here. How can?

Kopi Level - Yellow

The American TPP must be a damn good piece of trade pact

The Americans initiated this TPP but many Americans, including the lawmakers, did not really know what it is, and are opposing it. It is so unbelieveable that the Americans started something like this pact and the Americans don’t believe in it and are against it.
 
It is even more ridiculous that a country like Singapore would send its Foreign Ministers to America to convince the Americans how good this TPP is to the Americans. This is what Shanmugam said at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum, ‘If the US does not have the TPP, it will be a big loss to the US…’
 
Without knowing anything about the TPP, and I think many Sinkies too did not have a clue of how this TPP will affect them, we must still believe that Shanmugam must have gone through the details, like the ministers who signed the CECA, and know that it must be very good to Singapore. We shall believe that Shanmugam is an intelligent man, like all super talents here, and we shall all go along with him. His confidence in trying to convince the Americans is enough to prove to me that this TPP is a good thing. I don’t even have to know what it is.
 
And I believe the American leaders too will be converted by Shanmugam. He is rising to the plate as the successor to the Oracle, the One whom the Americans would sought advice from for his wisdom and to tap his deep thinking. The TPP, like the CECA, is so good that there is no need to even tell the people what it is all about. Just have faith in the govt to do the right thing.
 
With the TPP Singapore’s economy is going to soar. So will the economy of the Americans. Are Singapore and the Americans the only two winners in this pact? The TPP is like being tailor made by the Americans for the good of Singapore. And we are now the flag bearer of this pact, the pipe piper.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Chinese police to patrol Paris streets

This is a rather interesting and unfamiliar piece of news. The French govt is going to bring in Chinese policemen to help their police to patrol the streets of Paris, to protect Chinese tourists from being robbed or beaten up. Chinese tourists are now the second largest group of visitors in France but the biggest spenders and the tourist dollars are important in a French economy that is in deficit. And to attract more Chinese tourists, to give them more confidence and feel safer, after several cases of robbery and adductions targeting at Chinese tourists, the French govt is doing the right thing, a token of Chinese police presence in Paris. This is any time better than hiring Chinese or foreigners into the French Police Force.
 
Our SPF is considering hiring more foreigners to join the force. Maybe this is an option they can consider. We have so many foreigners here, from PRC, India, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia and Vietnam! How about inviting their police to walk the streets with our police to show them how welcoming we are for their presence, to make them feel safe in our streets, to make them feel like this is home, like their country? Imagine, having foreign policemen in our soils? Not much difference from hiring them and letting them wear our police uniform right, and carrying weapons to rule over the Sinkies.
 
Now what am I suggesting? Ok, ok, I know it is a silly idea. Just thinking out loud only lah. But I am sure some people will think this is hell of a great idea. Well, having more than 2m foreigners here is not an issue, they may think what’s wrong with foreigners walking our streets as policemen and checking and arresting Sinkies, should be quite normal and acceptable tiok boh?
 
I am not sure whether this kind of thinking should be classified as Uniquely Singapore or Silly Sinkie mentality, a mentality of no nation and no country?

Good idea? No? But the France is doing it already so cannot be wrong what? Got western country doing it so we can do also right?

Kopi Level - Green

Recreational centres for foreign workers

‘Singapore plans to build more recreation centres in the suburbs to draw migrant labourers away from the city after a rare riot in the congested Little India district last year, a report said Monday.
 
The multi-million dollar centres are the latest in a series of government measures to better manage areas where foreign workers congregate after the rampage by South Asian labourers on December 8 injured 39 people and saw 25 vehicles destroyed….’ TRE
 
It is something that has to be done. We have more than 2m foreigners working and living here. The rich foreigners have already bought their homes in the private estates, some renting out HDB flats and many living in the dormitories. 50% of the population here are foreigners and it is lucky that they did not take up 50% of the space and facilities here. It is simple arithmatic. You have so many people you need to provide them the living space unless they can be canned away after used.
 
Oh, while they are finding new and cheap land for the foreign workers, I hope they would be able to find some cheap land to build more nursing homes for our oldies instead of sending them to JB, Batam or Bintan. If we can find space for foreigners, we should have the decency to find space for our old and forgotten citizens.
 
Funny no one is trying to talk about appreciating their contributions in building this city. And no one is sending them encouraging letters to show how we value them. But many are writing such loving letters to the foreign workers here today. And no one is trying to socialize with them, to make them feel wanted, to make them feel not so lonely or neglected.
 
Really funny right if you can remember all great things the people are suggesting to make the foreign workers feel at home here. Our oldies can go to Bintan, Batam and JB, who cares?

Kopi Level - Green

The Devil is in town

Obama swiped through Asia recently and in the process told his hosts that America would be here to fight with them. It was as good as telling his subjects to go ahead to provoke and even attack China, and if China retaliates, the Americans will come out in full force to back them up. With this kind of blank cheque to start wars, the Pinoys and the Vietnamese wasted no time to try their luck. Vietnam sent their ships to ram Chinese ships and oil rigs. Now they are burning Chinese factories and killing Chinese, including Hongkies and Taiwanese in Vietnam. The Pinoys started to arrest Chinese fishing boats again. Tension has gone up several notches. The Japanese are talking tough with Abe eager to try his luck with China as well.
 
And the Americans are hollering at the Chinese for reacting. China is provocative, China is escalating the tension and bullying its neigbhours. Really? Who is bullying who? The Vietnamese are ramming Chinese ships and oil rigs and killing the Chinese in Vietnam. What have the Chinese done? The Pinoys are arresting Chinese fishing boats. The Americans are descending from heaven like angels, not the devils, and the American pivot into Asia is for peace. But since their arrival, tension is rising and their cronies are acting like mad cowboys, provoking and attacking China and daring China to react.
 
Vietnam and the Philippines are trying to rope in Asean to challenge China as a united front. Some Asean countries are also eager to act as the good boys of the Americans and are also thumping their chests. The devil must be happy. China is now having trouble with little pesky countries that think they can wallop China.
 
It is about time that China kicks butts and to flush out the devil behind all the tensions. There is no other peaceful ways to deal with provocative and aggressive little pests and the evil Empire. All they need is a big stick behind their backs to put them in their places.
 
The seed of war has been planted by the devil. And the Americans are shouting that China is aggressive and provocative. How many Asean countries would go along with the devil to start a war in the region? The devil is setting the agenda for Asean countries. Either you are with the devil or against the devil. There is no neutrality. I must say Obama has done well. For flirting with a few Asian countries and a few days’ work he has started a fire that will burn down the Asian countries and stop them in their peaceful path for economic growth. Asia has had peace since the Americans were booted out of Vietnam. Now they are back and war is around the corner. And this time the Devil has done better by having pesky countries to do the fighting themselves.

Kopi Level - Green