Leong Sze Hian working doubly hard 替天行道

It is so easy to flash some data to condemn someone of a sin. See, the data said so. Many people would just accept the data at face value, nod or shake their heads and walk away. The one waving the data won. He set the agenda, claimed to be saying the truth with a set of data.
 
But we all know how data can tell all kinds of stories, and even lies. Taking a data without knowing how the data was concocted, the premises, the before and the after, the selective processes, could tell a story that the data waver wanted to tell. The listener is none the wiser.
 
I used to claim that I got data to prove that 100% of the respondents said so without telling the listeners that 100% consisted of me and my dog named Boo. And similarly, I have conducted a few polls that were quite innocent until some ‘gongmando’ thought he was very smart by stuffing the ballot box. Of course I cooked up another poll that did not give him a chance to stuff his votes. Finally he got to stuff the votes into his own mouth.
 
Over the last few days there were so many data and finger pointings at AHPETC for poor management. And some data were used to prove the case. And it took Leong Sze Hian and his team to bury themselves into the history books to fish out the old records just to prove that the data waved were carefully selected to tell a desired story by the data wavers. And the full story was totally different from the one sided story told earlier.
 
Without the hard work and meticulous detail digging, the people told of a story would believe the story. Now people have doubts as to the original story. Many thanks must go to the selfless and the voluntarism of people like Leong Sze Hian who put in so much effort for no monetary returns to show another truth. Who said everyone is motivated only be money?
 
My God, what if there were no Leong Sze Hian and his team of workers? What would the truth be? Who would be carried on the shoulders as brilliant super talents telling the ‘truth’?
 
I am sure telling half truth is not a crime and there is nothing unethical about it too. It is just being clever and needs to be praised and even rewarded for being so clever.

Kopi Level - Yellow

SMRT applying for fare review

This must be good news. With the restructuring and changing of accounting methods, with the high capital assets being transferred out to the govt, with the huge profits made in the last quarter and more coming, with increasing load from more commuters, with the govt pumping many billions to buy assets for the SMRT, and with the oil prices falling like a rock, every commuters must be keeping their fingers crossed that this time the SMRT will be asking the PTC for a fare reduction. When times were difficult they had asked the commuters to be understanding when they hiked fares. Now when everything is so favourable, I am sure they will reciprocate the generosity of the public by going for a fare cut. It cannot be the other way!
 
Listening to Lui Tuck Yew in his blog, I quote the Today paper, ‘ the authorities must continue to make public transport affordable for all Singaporeans. “I hope that the PTC will study if we can insulate vulnerable groups such as senior citizens from a fare increase or at least mitigate the impact on them.”’ You can see the goodness and the heart. Let’s hope there will be a fare deduction this time when the review is concluded.
 
What do you think? I don’t think they got the gumption and audacity to ask for a fare hike this time. Let’s wait and see what they will be asking.
 
PS. The commuters are still experience regular breakdowns, which means the service is still far from satisfactory.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Being stupid in a smart city

This morning was a horrible mess. There was a power failure and my computer did not get recharged. It did not wake me up in the morning as programmed. By the time I realized what was happening, I was half an hour late and in a big rush. I had so much trouble finding my way to the toilet as my GPS was not working too.
 
By the time I got into the toilet I was stuck and lost. My computer would normally instruct me to either wash my face or brush my teeth first depending on which one it thought would be of priority. I stood in front of the basin trying to decide what to do for the first time on my own. Then I had to decide whether to take a bath or skip it. My computer decided that for me too, by sensing the level of my body odour. If acceptable, it would tell me to skip the bath and not to waste water.
 
When I got out of the house, another problem cropped up. Which route should I take to get to the MRT station? This was the job of my computer. It would always choose the best path with the least people and most pleasant to walk. Now again I had to decide what I should do when I had long forgotten how to do it. At the traffic light again I was stalled. The computer would decide when I should cross the road safely and it was now up to me to take the risk to cross the road unaided by the computer. So risky.
 
At the MRT station I was looking for the traffic lights to tell me if the station was too crowded. But it did not as it was also affected by the power failure. And I was not sure whether to go into the station or take an alternative transport to my office. I did not know doing simple things like getting to the office could be so difficult without the computer. And I have programmed everything, spending on a small fortune on the computer and all the softwares. Now the computer had made me stupid and over dependent on it.
 
What about the other computer illiterate senior citizens? Can they afford to buy a computer to lug along wherever they go? And could they be as smart as me in using the computer? Maybe I should get someone to develop a chip that can be inserted into computer illiterate idiots to make them smart so that they can benefit from living in a smart city.
 
I am still stuck at Raffles Place not knowing which is the best route to take to reach MBFC. I need to get my computer charged first to be able to get my life back to normal.

Kopi Level - Green

Johore Mentri Besar to seize back Malay land

‘(18 November 2014) – The Johor government will seize Malay reserved land which had fallen into the hands of the non-Malays.
 
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said several action plans will be enforced to seize the land which rightfully belong to the Malays.’ Quoted from an article in TRE.
 
What does this statement mean? How could Malay reserved land fell into non Malay hands? In Malaysia, no non Malay would have the audacity or guts to take away Malay land illegally. They must have paid for them legally, with good money, or risk their heads being chopped off. Cheating the Malays of their land in Malaysia? How dare the non Malays do that?
 
Maybe, the lands they owned were cheated by someone from the Malays and then sold to them. The non Malays would not know that the land was acquired by foul means. And how many of these non Malays owning land or properties are Singaporeans? Could these non Malays be genuine buyers but got cheated themselves thinking that the land they bought were legal? How could this be proven? Even if there are legal papers, all the ex Malay owners need to do is to claim they were cheated and the non Malays can kiss their land and whatever properties sitting on the land good bye.
 
How many pieces of such land are in the Iskandar zone? How many non Malays who have been staying in their properties and waking up tomorrow to be told they were Malay reserved land and they have to return them to their rightful Malay owners? I can see money flying away.
 
An ugly nightmare is awaiting all the non Malay property owners. Hopefully not many Singaporeans are affected. Pray hard, pray real hard. Would it make any difference if the Singaporeans are Malays? I think they are safe as the report talked about non Malay hands. Sleep well?
 
Anyone still thinking of Iskandar? How to make sure the properties will be safe 10 or 20 years down the road when another Mentri Besar is going to do the same and the papers turned out to be fake or told to be fake?
 
Malaysia boleh!
 
Don’t think this kind of things can happen in Sin City in the future. There is no reserved land here.

Kopi Level - Green

Desmond Lee, what is the agenda?

The attack on the heinous crime committed by AHPETC cannot be simply ignored. How can AHPETC allowed 29%, or was it 22.9%, of its residents be in arrears in S&CC fees? This is unforgiveable. There cannot be anything more serious than residents not paying S&CC fees, not when they are in financial hardship, not when they did not vote for the WP, not because they are not happy with the service provided by AHPETC. What kind of precedence would it set?
 
What is losing millions in bad investments compared to this outrageous offence of not paying S&CC on time? What about anyhow aim? What about incurring huge deficits to be covered up by govt grants? You want the truth? These are nothing really. If they are important and serious, the ministers would surely have spoken up about them. The minister knows what is important what is not. Anyone got more clever investment ideas?
And why are the people brining up the millions or billions of dollars lost in bad investments? What have these got to do with residents having difficulties paying a few dollars of S&CC fees? These are separate issues. Anyway, it is over, water under the bridge. Let’s move on.
 
The AHPETC must come out clean, be transparent and let the people know why the people are not paying S&CC. This is a very serious thing and the town council will become insolvent and unsustainable. And worst, other residents would have to subsidise those in arrears. Really? How? AHPETC, please explain, if not this will become top election issue.
 
Oh, please close the cupboard and don’t let anything fall out. What, why keep repeating and bringing out grandmother stories? What is inside the cupboard must stay inside the cupboard ok. What, got worms, got skeletons? Where, where got?
 
Now AHPETC must be very busy trying to explain this big problem and got no time for anything less important. And the people would all be talking and thinking about this grave issue and nothing else.
 
What do you think?

Kopi Level - Green