Developing Singapore into a Smart Nation

There is this article by a Jenson Goh in the Today paper on this topic and titled ‘Developing the “heartware” for a Smart Nation. What does this mean, a nation of smart people or what? According to Yaacob Inbrahim, a Smart Nation starts with the hardware, ie tapping on the potential of infocomm and media. This is definitely not the Smart Nation I was thinking of, a nation of smart people, but more an attempt to tap on the advantages of technology and communication.
 
Yaacob went on to elaborate on the use of big data to understand human behavior and the interconnectivity of all kinds of modern devices to give instant information. While writing this, the thought of traffic lights for human beans in MRT stations came to mind. We need devices like traffic lights to inform the people whether the station is crowded or not and how to make decisions like taking alternative transport if it is crowded. This is what a Smart Nation is supposed to be in its basic form. Never mind if the people may become more stupid and dependent on machines and devices to tell them what to do. Won’t it be nice if the people will react to light signals, green they start walking, red, they stop?
 
Yaacob and his ministry have been thinking, and I think the govt too, and they have come to the conclusion that ‘All problems of a city can be traced to a single factor: Rapid growth, which places massive strain on its support infrastructure. (So) The development of a Smart Nation platform can go a long way in overcoming this challenge.’ Thank God they finally discovered the causes of the problems in this city. And they are going to take actions, to turn this city into a Smart Nation or city, so that all the problems would be solved. I remember the story of putting the cart before the donkey, or was it closing the barn door after the pony has bolted out? Never mind.
 
There is also the element of the people, the heartware. Now which should come first, smart people first before Smart Nation or Smart Nation then smart people? Let mean put it the other way, smart people make Smart Nation or Smart Nation makes smart people? Or it could be Smart Nation makes robotic people. I think it is easy to have Smart Nation first as the hardware can be bought. Having a nation of smart people is a bit more difficult, and to make matter worse, it is not easy to turn a nation of daft into smart people. It is a daunting task, must be. If it is difficult, then perhaps there is also an easy solution to it. Replace the daft with smart people from the world. We can just bring in the best to replace the daft should be easy. We have started in many areas, sports talents, IT talents, finance talents, academics, medical and legal professions etc etc.
 
I think we can dovetail the pursuit of both Smart Nation and smart people simultaneously, just buy the equipment and bring the smart people in. But why Smart Nation? The big data and connectivity of devices could bring instant feedback. Not sure how much it will cost. I thought a cheaper way to get instant feedback is Reach or maybe TRE. Cheap and good, unless these feedbacks are not from smart people or smart machines and devices, so no pakai.
 
The thought of living in a Smart Nation in the morning is quite comforting, something to look forward to. Those not smart people, I mean those that cannot adapt to new devices and technology, please go for classes to upgrade yourself to be smart beans if you want to live in a Smart Nation. And for a start, please get to understand what the three colours of traffic light in the train station meant and what actions to take when you see them.
 
Have a good day dreaming of a Smart Nation.

PS, has anyone installed a GPS at home so that he would not be lost finding his way to the toilet?

Kopi Level - Green

Would you like to work at 85?

The chances of getting a job at 85 are still there. For those who need the dignity of a job at 85, fear not, there are jobs available, provided you are a non graduate. The working life of Singaporean graduates, unless you belong to the immortal class, is about 45 to 55. After that it is self employed as taxi drivers, or if you are lucky, as security guards. I think the working life span of a security guard is about 70.
 
85 is only for those non grads who are prepared to work as cleaners. Maybe a grad could do as well if he does not mine. A job is a job. And if one has a job, what is there to kpkb about. Be grateful for the privilege.
 
Here is a short extract of a letter to Gilbert of Transitioning.org.
 
‘Dear Gilbert,
 
The cleaning companies of Singapore working at Changi Airport use Singaporean old lady for heavy duty work.
 
She is 85 years old and I really felt sorry for her on my departure at the airport.
I asked her why she is struggling with the heavy thrash in the departure hall and she said this is her part-time work for the airport….’
 
Some may think letting a 85 year old to work as a cleaner is not appropriate, not the right thing to do. Some may say the 85 year old is lucky, as she can live a dignified life, earning her keeps and be independent. Not sure how she thinks? Would she be cursing and swearing that she still has to toil at that age? Or would she really be saying, I am proud to be working and don’t have to depend on others for handouts. Or would she be saying she loves to work?
 
What do you think?

Kopi Level -  Green

The American bully at it again

Since the downing of an American reconnaissance plane in Hainan Island in 2001, things got quiet down for a while. The Americans have always been flying spy missions over China and only stopped after several U2s were shot down in the 1960s. Spying missions were than restricted to the coastal waters and airspace of eastern China and have been going on continuously as if telling and taunting China that it can’t do anything about it. The seas and airspace around China are the playground of the American military aircraft and ships, so said the Empire.
 
All these hostile military missions were hardly reported by the western media, a self censorship not to highlight the provocative acts of the Americans. What would happen if the Russians or Chinese were to fly their spy planes along the western American coasts? China has always been branded as becoming more assertive when it flies its military craft, air and sea, in its territorial waters and airspace. If China would to fly its aircraft along American coast, would the Americans be crying war? Of course they will, and the whole western media will be thumping down China as a hostile nation.
 
What the fuck are the Americans doing, flying spy missions along the Chinese coasts like it is their playground and think it is acceptable? China is now able to take them down and would not allow the Americans to go on spying and teasing them. The bullying of China is coming to an end. The whole world must know that the real bully is the Americans. And the Americans are not doing it only to China but to the rest of the world, spying on them in all ways and thumping their nose at the rest of the world.
 
The recent confrontation in the airspace of Hainan Island is being trumped by the Americans that it was the fault of the Chinese. That the Americans can fly along Chinese territories to spy on China and China must not do anything about it. This kind of unfriendly acts would have to come to an end. The Chinese will increasingly push back the Americans to the Americas. This is Asia and China will guard its airspace and territorial seas like the Americans will guard theirs.
 
Whatever the Americans are doing to China, China will do the same to the Americans one day. The Chinese and the Americans are meeting to talk about this incident. It is best that the American bully starts to stop such unfriendly acts to another superpower. China must tell the Americans both can play the game. If the Americans persist in such unfriendly acts, China would do the same. Would the Americans be happy if the Chinese would to fly their planes and sail their ships along the American coasts? Yes, the Chinese is catching up with the Americans militarily and would catch up with the Americans in their unfriendly acts as well if the Americans do not stop their nonsense. The days when the Americans can bully the Chinese are over.
 
What occurred a couple of days ago over Hainan will be repeated until the Americans stop their unfriendly acts. The bully must not be allowed to keep on bullying other countries. The bully must be stopped. The bully does not own the world. Pax Americana is coming to an end. America would have to retreat to be the bully of the Americas, and perhaps Europe and Africa. East Asia will not be its playground with impunity for long.

Kopi Level - Green

In praise of non grads – What’s the agenda?

University degrees not necessary have been trumped around for a while with ministers talking about better prospects as hawkers and crane drivers and being more desirable. What’s the point of a degree when you cannot eat it or cannot get a job? After what was spoken at the NDR, the praising for non uni grads, particularly poly grads, took on more steam. It is like everything about university education is wrong and the future is in poly grads and non grads. There is no doubt that poly grads have an important role in the economy and some could do very well. They were the stars during the semi conductor era when Singapore was a manufacturing hub and many rose to become CEOs of multinationals.
 
Things have changed, jobs have changed, the employers have changed, govt policies have changed, and the new animal, foreigners, have dominated the employment scene as employers, recruitment agents and as the preferred sources of talents. We have seen many PMEs being booted out of their jobs in their primes and unable to find another job as the foreigners took over. Our local university grads are found to be either dumb, not smart enough or trained to unemployment or with unsuitable marketable skills.
 
And we have something like 6 universities and more joint universities instead of just the Singapore University and NTU. This could be just one of the reasons, over production of graduates. Like Douglas Chua said in the ST forum, education policy needs a rethink, ‘it has either been overdone, resulting in an oversupply of graduates, or its current benefits are not as relevant to our open, pragmatic economy’. This is a most surprising statement from a forumer.
 
What the hell is going on? The govt does not know what it was doing and messing up education again? On one hand, so many universities were set up and on the other hand saying there is an oversupply and we don’t really need graduates from the universities but poly grads or non grads?
 
I can think of another reason. Since our local graduates are not marketable or employable, and our citizens are good only in technical and lower management jobs, and only foreigners are good and preferred for top jobs, yes, it is only pragmatic to cut down on university education. We don’t need so many local graduates and universities. We only need to import all the talents that we need. I think this is a good policy. We can then either close down a few of the universities and save some money and land. Or perhaps these universities can be turned strictly into commercial enterprises, be self funding and self sustaining, with the highly paid foreign lecturers and professors being paid by the fees from foreign students. The scaling back is good and natural. We would be self sufficient in having local hawkers too, not dependent on PRC hawkers. And we can go back to the days of SU and NTU to provide the few grads we need.
 
Do I make any sense? Are we really going to go the non uni road, to produce more non uni grads and be dependent on foreign uni grads for our top jobs, management jobs?
 
What do you think? What is the new education policy? What are the employment opportunities for our average local talents, the Ah Bengs, Ahmads and Aruns?

Kopi Level - Green

Singaporean First Party - A new party is formed

PRESS RELEASE

Dear fellow Singaporeans, friends and supporters,

I am pleased to announce that SINGAPOREANS FIRST has been successfully registered as a society by the Registry of Societies. Following the registration, we submitted our proposed party symbol for approval. We expect the process to take a few weeks. Until it is approved, we cannot make use of the party logo.

We can now conduct activities of an approved political party. We need members to help us. If you share our beliefs and values (as stated in our Manifesto here), please join us by filling up this SINGAPOREANS FIRST MEMBERSHIP FORM

In the months ahead, we will be planning a series of activities leading up to the next General Election. We welcome ideas from all Singaporeans. You can approach any of the members of the protem committee listed below:

Chairman : Dr Ang Yong Guan,
Vice chairman : Tan Peng Ann,
Secretary-General : Tan Jee Say,
Assistant-Secretary General : Loke Pak Hoe,
Treasurer : Dr David Foo Ming Jin,
Assistant Treasurer : Fatimah Akhtar,
Members : Michael Chia, Fahmi Rais, Winston Lim, David Tan.

We look forward to your support.

Tan Jee Say
Singaporeans First Party

Kopi Level - Green