This is a gem by Douglas Chua

Douglas wrote a piece that appeared in the ST last Saturday. His article’s title is ‘Political commentators, get real’. He stated 3 points on the issue of claims that the govt is losing the public trust. Here they are and I quote:

‘First, there is no need to be apologetic because there is no such thing as a 100 per cent mandate in a democracy.

Second, there is no urgent need to appease and regain the trust of the minority that is dead set against the Govt.

Third, it is absurd to surmise that vandalism in Toa Payoh and the Prime Minister’s move to seek redress from a blogger indicate an erosion of the people’s trust in the Govt.’

From his frequent posts, Douglas is also a political commentator and is entitled to his views and so do others. What Douglas surmised is that there is no erosion of trust against the Govt and only a minority is dead set against the Govt. I am not sure how he knew that those against the Govt are a minority and I too am not sure if it is a minority or a growing majority. Only on the day of reckoning would the truth be out.

In the last GE, the PAP/Govt won with an overall majority vote of 60%. Since that fateful day, a Presidential Election and two by elections were held. Did they indicate a shift in the popular vote for the Govt? Or these were exceptions, not the same. One is a PE and the other two were by elections so they don’t count.

Since then, more issues and grievances have appeared with the people marching to the otherwise quiet as a cemetery Hong Lim Speakers Corner to protest against the Govt. These kinds of thing have never happened before. But of course they were a vocal minority just like the people shafting money in Roy Ngerng’s hands were a minority. There is nothing to worry about. The Govt still has 60% of the votes and would still be voted to power in the next GE. All is fine. Just ignore the noise and the vocal minority.

I also believe that the Govt and all its supporters feel the same way. They have the support of the majority and they can afford to ignore the ‘minority’. I am so agreeable with Douglas Chua on his assessment of the political landscape. There is a little thing missing in my belief, my conviction. Somehow I got this niggering feeling that things have changed since the last GE. But it is good for the morale to believe otherwise and don’t be disappointed when the belief turns out to be just a belief.

Kopi Level - Yellow

MH370 – Suckers are born every minute

‘Australian authority to announce new search area for MH370
(Xinhua) Updated: 2014-06-23 09:50

CANBERRA - The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) confirmed with Xinhua on Sunday that the agency is working on analyzing existing data and information to refine a new search area for the missing Malaysian Airline flight MH370.
Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan said the new search area will be announced by ATSB on Wednesday.
Dolan told local media earlier that the new search area would be hundreds of km south of where the first phase of underwater search had covered….’
 
When is Australia an authority on where the MH370 was supposed to crash? After 3 months of wild goose chase, is China still willing to be led by the nose by the Australians to search in God knows where in the hope of finding MH370?
 
What expertise or information that the Australians had or in possession to be in an authoritative position to tell China and the rest of the interested parties where to find MH370? If there is anyone that really has some clues on the missing aircraft, it must be the Malaysians. Even Immarsat’s satellite pings were more like fabrications. If China is so desperate to look for the aircraft, it is better that they rely on their own resources and intelligence network whose information would likely to be more reliable than all the western countries can provide.
 
China should stop being a sucker or a gullible and willing victim of misinformation. The western countries are likely to lead them by the nose on another wild goose chase.

Kopi Level - Yellpw

Irene Yap – An honest revelation of human ugliness

Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about physical features. I am talking about ugliness within as opposed to inner beauty. The cries of Irene Yap in a public forum must have touched many hearts. Many could feel her anguish and cry with her. How could a society allow a 76 year old lady to go begging the govt for the return of her life time savings? And how could people think that her plea was annoying, and even suggesting that she was mad?
 
Where is the human milk of kindness? Oh, there is a kindness movement promoted by the govt and the grassroot leaders are supposed to spread this kindness message among the people. In the case of Irene Yap in the public forum, I must say that kindness and empathy for the unfortunate were totally absent. It looked more like a farce for people to get agitated by an old lady begging, not for charity, but for the return of her own money. Can people be so vile and contemptuous?
 
Irene Yap’s case has been turned into a tragi- comedy. The tragic part is obvious. And it gets worse when people could not empathise with her plight. How can anyone be annoyed with an old lady pleading for her money? And how could anyone think the whole episode was a comedy? If you look at the candid video clip, you cannot fail to notice a woman in red, literally ‘chio kah peng’. In hokien this can be translated into ‘laughing until falling off the chair’. Yes, a woman, supposedly a grassroot leader I think, was having a good laugh while Irene Yap was nearly in tears.
 
This woman in red laughed until her whole body fell forward with her head nearly hitting the ground. It was a boisterous and spontaneous uncontrolled laughter. What could have caused her to be so hilarious? The pathetic plea of an old lady they thought was mad and talking nonsense? Or was it something that her neighbour, another grassroot leader sitting beside her, said about Irene Yap?
 
Where is the empathy? The display of intolerance and impatience to the old lady was shameful. Really. Unfortunately, Irene Yap is now a celebrity for the wrong reason. Perhaps Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui could invite her to Hong Lim on 12 July to make her plea once again in public. The crowd in Hong Lim would definitely share her grief and feel sorry for her. There will also be another kind of crowd that may go there for a good laugh, like the woman in red. ‘Chio kah peng!’. Now where are William Wan and his movement of kind people? No kind people? No one think it right to admonish the two women like they scolded Sinkies for being xenophobic or rude to foreigners.

Kopi Level - Green

Mayors and more mayors

We have how many mayors in this little piece of rock? 5, 6? Do we need so many mayors? We don’t have any mayors before. What can the mayors do that the MPs cannot do? More important is who is paying their salaries?
 
We are having a bloated political machine, with so many ministers, second ministers, senior ministers of states, ministers of states, parliamentary secretaries, chairman of this and that committee etc etc. Why do we need to have such a big govt and paying so much for it? Can we have a smaller govt and do away with all the excessive political appointments?
 
Mind you, it is money from the people, paid by the people. I hope this kind of practices will be stopped and not copied by future govts in power. It is so easy to create more and more appointments and pay and pay since it is OPM. The money must come from somewhere. It does not come from their pockets but the people’s pockets.
 
Political parties must not be given a blank cheque to pay and pay with the people ended up paying for it. The people are not daft and know what is happening. It is ok to create more and more appointments and pay and pay if it is your grandfather’s company and paid by your grandfather..

Kopi Level - Green

CPF – Between the devil and the deep blue sea

The Hongkies have this saying, money earned is to spend. What is the point of making so much money and not spending it? I think they have a point. There are many misers who would earn and earn and build a mountain of savings but live poorly only to pass away leaving behind a fortune that they never have the good fortune to enjoy.
 
The Sinkie philosophy, or at least this is the official philosophy, is to save and save. Don’t spend, keep it for tomorrow. With this kind of con talks, oops, I mean wisdom, Sinkies will all end up with a lot of savings and feeling very secure and rich for a tomorrow that may not come. Many will die very very rich, but the end result is that other people will be spending their money for them, to enjoy their life time savings for the stupidity of Sinkies.
 
The more painful part, when the rich save, they save their extra cash and still enjoy a rich life, every moment of it. When the not so rich or poor save, they actually have to tighten their belt, forgo something today and hoping they could have a bit of something tomorrow. And the saddest part, they deprived themselves of the present, eat less, enjoy less and could end up unable to enjoy a tomorrow that did not come. They lose out upfront and lose out at the end.
 
Which is a better wisdom, to spend now or not to spend now? In the former, at least one gets to enjoy the present. In the latter, one loses out in both ends in the case of the not rich. In this either or case, isn’t it better to live now than hope for a better tomorrow?
 
The ideal is of course moderation. Save a bit when one can, save a lot when one can, and hope to live an easier life tomorrow. As for the conmen that advocate people to save and not to eat now, be careful and don’t be duped by them. Many conmen only give con advice for their benefits.
 
PS, saving a lot of money is the privilege of the rich. For the poor who don’t even have enough to eat, saving is double tragedy when forced upon them. In the case of CPF savings, how many died before they could spend a single cent on themselves?

Kopi Level - Green