The simplicity mindset of a daft people

Coming hot behind the heels of Hsien Loong’s statement about building a Singapore for our people, our children and their children, there is this forum letter in the ST a few days ago by a Richard Thong Kok Mun with the title ‘It’s not about nationality, but hiring the right people’. In the article, the author shared his frustration talking to outsourced call centre operators with their unfamiliar accent and difficulties in understanding him. Short of some asses hurling racist remarks at him, he did make a point. A call centre is all about communication and all about the communicating in the interest of the clients. If the clients have problems with the operator, it is going to be a painful and unpleasant experience. There is nothing about being racist.
 
Richard Thong added in his last paragraph, ‘The question is not about which nationality is best suited for the service sector, but about hiring the right person for the job.’ He may be trying to avoid the accusation that he is being racist, so anyone will do regardless of nationality as long as he is good, talented and can do the job.
How would this relate to Hsien Loong’s statement about building a country for our children and grand children if we allow hiring according to ability or ‘talent’ to do the job regardless of nationality? Let me repeat myself, there are 6b people out there that can do the job better than any daft Sinkie and more willing to work with lesser pay. So how, get them all in and replace the daft Sinkies with these foreigners regardless of nationality? Then if all our children and grand children lose their jobs to the foreigners, is that ok?
 
Oh, I can solve this problem. Issue pink ICs to all the foreigners and make them Sinkies so our daft Sinkies cannot complain even if they are sacked and unemployed as the replacement are now Sinkies, not sure how to call them ‘our children or grand chidlren’. Do we need to reach a stage when the majority of the daft Sinkies are replaced by foreigners and be jobless before we wake up from this silly ‘meritocrazy’ and foreign talent shit, that it is ok to get rid of Sinkies and replace them with new citizens and foreigners?
 
How many times must this message be repeated before the daft Sinkies understand what they are in for? The whole country of 3m Sinkies can be easily replaced by the hoards of millions of hungry humanities waiting at our doors.
 
Still cannot get the picture? They are not just coming for your jobs, but your homes and your country if daft Sinkies foolishly bring them in unconditionally. So difficult to understand? So willing to be raped and be driven out of your own country? Sinkies are so happy to be replaced by foreigners. Taiwanese Lee Ao is right after all.
 
PS: Is MOM so insecure that it has to justify to the world that foreign workers are happy working here? There are millions waiting at the door wanting to come in. Repeat this after me please. The money is good. Those that are unhappy, simply send them home instead of allowing them to stay and create trouble or start another riot. There is no need to pander to the world. There is no need to feel inferior or insecure to the foreign CEOs and MNCs operating here. This is our country. Oops, this is a free for all hotel that belongs to everyone. I almost forget about this new status.

Kopi Level - Green

CPF – Govt please, help not wanted

Chuan Jin is going to make sure the people have enough for retirement by adjusting the Minimum Sums of the CPF account holders. The few variations that can be expected, contribute more if not enough. Contribute less if got enough. Use less if not enough. If no need to touch the savings when got too much money, can take out more? What is going to happen to those who have a lot of money and do not need their CPF savings, like the multi millionaires and billionaires? Can they withdraw all their CPF savings?
 
What is going to happen to those who have very little in their CPF savings? Please contribute more. Or please, your CPF not enough, cannot take out or take up lesser to last longer? If got only $10k, will make it last another 30 years! When one does not have enough, either must put in more or take out less right?
 
The problem here is that the Govt will not be contributing a single cent to make up for those who really need more savings in their CPF. This is not a govt pension scheme and the money is the people’s money. Not enough, top up, don’t expect the Govt to top up for you.
 
So, how? I think it is better for the Govt not to help. The more the Govt wants to help, the more painful and difficult it will be for those who got money not enough.
 
Please, please, please don’t help us. Thank you very much. God bless you for your kindness. God will bless you to win the next GE. So no need to do so much. The people can understand your kindness and will vote for you. Just leave the people alone to manage their own few dollars left in their savings. Just return their CPF money to them and the people will pray for you.

Kopi Level - Green

NSmen no need to obey illegal orders – Judge

In a sweeping precedence setting ruling, District Judge Low Wee Ping made a judgement that NSFs ‘do not need to obey a manifestly illegal or unlawful order.’ This came about after the death of a NSman when the jeep he was in overturned. The driver was ordered to drive the jeep despite telling his superior that he did not have a driving lesson to drive class 3 vehicles.
 
The judge went further to order ‘lawyer Laurence Goh, a senior officer in the SAF, to get the message out that NSFs need not obey any order that is illegal or manifestly unlawful.’ How would this judgement affect the NSmen and regular soldiers when they are ordered by their superior to do something illegal?
 
An example that is waiting to happen is a ‘freak’ election and the soldiers ordered to take over the country to prevent a newly elected party to form the new govt. In such a situation, if a new political party is legitimately voted to power, and should someone decides to declare the election a ‘freak election’, not even a fraud election when no fraud is found, how would the soldiers react? How would the soldiers determine if the order is illegal and manifestly unlawful or otherwise?
 
What if the order comes from the incumbent Prime Minister who has lost the election or the incumbent President who is still constitutionally serving his term as the President? Who would decide whether the order is legal and lawful?
 
When such a situation becomes a reality, there will be judgement calls demanded on the soldiers to decide to obey and follow the order or to defy the order as being illegal and unlawful. It would be a difficult moment for the soldiers in charge even if a judge has made a ruling on illegal orders and make it known to all the soldiers.
 
Let’s hope Singapore would not have to face such a day and the soldiers would not have to be challenged by such an order and be put in a dilemma to choose between obeying an order and disobeying an illegal and unlawful order.

Kopi Level - Green

Clash of civilizations

What happened in Peshawar, Pakistan and Sydney are very painful to bear. 135 students killed and counting, in a military school, children and students mowed down by 6 Talebans. You can cry until no tears, the agony of the parents and families is beyond comprehension.
 
We are in the 21st Century. Many nations and people have moved forward, discarded the primitive ways of life when lives were cheap and short. Nations and people developed and progressed at different pace and speed. Many countries and nations are still steep in their primitive and tribal ways. Many things that are abhorring to modern man are still normal to some of these civilizations. It is best to let them live their lives at their own pace and progressed and be civilized in their natural order of things.
 
Do not stir the hornet’s nest of tribalism. Do not force your way of life on them. But this is exactly what the Americans had done. The Americans do not want to leave these people alone. They poked their fingers in all the wrong holes. Now they are scattered all over the world, for the right and wrong reasons, for real or fake. Two different worlds collided in the same pot and they clashed. Both are incompatible to the other in many ways. Without the Americans stirring shit everywhere, the movement and migration of people across countries and civilizations would take a more gradual and acceptable pace with people moving to seek a better life only when they wanted to, and in smaller numbers.
 
With the Americans bombing and tearing down their countries, millions of refugees are set in motion and forced to move, not because they wanted to live in a different place, in a different country with different culture and belief systems and ways of life. The push factor was too strong for them to stay put. They moved out from an intolerable place without choice. And many would be in places and countries they did not want to be and would not want to accept the way of life and customs and values of their countries of adoption. They will become problems to their host nations.
 
We are seeing clashes of civilizations everywhere today, different people unable to adapt and unwilling to accept different ways of life but forced to be together by forces beyond their control.
 
Would be better for people with the same way of life and value systems be staying and living together than for them to squeeze together in a place where both did not want to belong? The Americans should stop their shit stirring. Their cronies should also stop joining the act to make living unbearable for local inhabitants and forcing them to move out of their countries. They are just accomplices to stirring the hornet’s nest and the hornets would spread and can sting at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Do not be a party to disrupting people’s way of life. Leave people alone to live their lives and settle their own problems especially when the gap between the civilizations is too wide to patch. Not wanting to desist in meddling with other people in other people’s country will only bring pain and suffering to one’s own country and people in a matter of time.
 
Leave other people alone to live their own ways of life if you do not want a repeat of 911, Sydney or like the school in Peshawar.
 
PS: The Americans did all these things in style. Just press a button and the drones or smart bombs will be on their way. You don’t see the gore and the victims, you don’t hear the screaming and the cries from where you pressed the button. So it is ok, fun, and nothing to cry about. At most imagine it is a work of Hollywood, surreal.

Kopi Level - Green

Singapore will be in deep trouble, now you know

Today Singaporeans are greeted with two pieces of depressing news. Two of the country’s largest monopolies, the transport companies and the HDB are in trouble, with the HDB announcing a deficit of $2b! Cannot imagine how a monopoly housing developer that controls everything, from land prices, contractors, construction workers and pricing of the units for sale could lose so much money over a year.
 
In the case of the transport companies, with oil prices hitting the roof, I think, with labour cost going up and up, with bonuses going up and up for good performances, with upgrading and more new buses and trains, it cannot be helped but to apply for fare hikes. And the govt is so kind, Lui Tuck Yew said the maximum allowed to hike is 2.8%. And the transport companies will be helping a lot of commuters to lower the fares for them. Where in the world got so good things. The companies must be running at a loss and need higher fares to cover their operating costs, and still got to help commuters like students, seniors and concession card holders. If not how to justify for fare hikes? Say thank you quickly and for the little mercy of only 2.8% fare hikes. Be grateful.
 
As for the HDB, it is giving so much subsidies and discounts and losing $2b is very lucky. Please don’t ask them how they arrived at the big loss. It is embarrassing. Just accept it like all the good analysts and housing agencies did. The figures are honest, transparent and fully accountable. So the loss must be real.
 
Maybe HDB should bring back Mah Bow Tan to manage it. The losses would be much lower, maybe $1b. Or maybe should ask Liew Mun Leong or Quek Leng Beng or Redas to assist the HDB on how to run the biggest monopoly public housing agency and still make money. This kind of operation requires geniuses and private entrepreneurs’ talent to do the trick. But if these people claim conflict of interests and refuse to come on board, go around the world to find the best talented CEO to take over. Just issue the guy with a pink IC and all the problem will be solved. India and China and even the Philippines would have such talents and most willing to take the job with the pay we are paying. They may even settle for half the pay as they are hungry and will work doubly hard. Then HDB would be able to sell highly subsidized public flats and no need to lose so much money.
 
Maybe the opposition parties can volunteer to take up the challenge to run HDB for a term. Oops, maybe a term is too short, not fair, how about a long term, say 20 years or 30 years to turn HDB around and make HDB owners happy as well? This type of projects cannot be for short term one, the duration of each building programme is at least 4 years. The WP should propose this in Parliament to take over HDB for the next 30 years. This is only reasonable as short term sure got short term problems. In the long run everything will be fine.
 
But if all things remain the same, please make sure the PAP remains in power or Singapore will be in deep trouble. HBD and public transport are two good examples to show how wrong things can be.

Kopi Level - Green