Han Fook Kwang tantalising tales of dark secrets

Last Saturday Han Fook Kwang wrote a story of a small town called Omelas and the dark secret in the basement. A poor child was locked in there, living in abject misery. Everyone in the town knew of this shameful secret. Some pretended that it was not there, some could not live with the ugly truth and left town. No one in the town of Omelas talked about the dark secret in the basement, but everyone was talking about it without saying anything. The dark secret was no secret. It was common knowledge. Who was there to tell?

Han Fook Kwang made it more direct by talking about Singapore and its dark secrets in the basement. He told, all three of them, but nothing nearer the truth. He said so much, in a whole article but said nothing. This is nothing different from the Gang of Four saga in China when the comrades would shout ‘Gang of Four’ but showed a high 5, all 5 fingers wide open.

Perhaps this is the closest that the dark secrets in the basement could be told. Perhaps this is a good way of acknowledging that there are dark secrets in the basement, better than denying their existence. Perhaps when asked, all the wise ones, rich ones, successful ones, and the losers, would say yes, yes, there is no dark secrets in our basement, but keep shaking their heads from left to right.

Singaporeans are so intelligent, from the top to the bottom, to skirt around the secrets in the basement and live life as normal as they could, and live life to the fullest or to the darnest, without spilling the beans. Some left and become quitters to be replaced by new quitters that would eventually come to know of the dark secrets, but be very Singaporeans, knowing and not knowing. Bipolar is a good sickness to have, just like dementia, and not knowing or talking about the dark secrets is a blessing and a formula for success and living well.

I too did not know that there are dark secrets until this story of Omelas. Is Omelas supposed to be a code for something that we are supposed to know? Does it stand for One Man, One Mentor, or Old Man’s everlasting something, something, something? Or should it be written backwards like Salemo? Can anyone break the code or write another book about The Omelas or Salemo Code?

Finance industry – of ethics and trust

I once wrote to a CEO of a bank when he spoke about ethics and trust in the industry. He didn’t like what I told him. He was embarrassed. But he did put something right after my tea session with him.

Timothy Massad, Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Ravi Menon, MD of MAS, spoke in the same seminar attended by the Who’s Who of the Singapore finance industry. The main points both spoke off are ethics and trust in the finance industry. The very same issues that the CEO I spoke to was lamenting about. I am feeling funny when people in a position to do things right and in their watches could be talking about the flaws of the system as if they are helpless about them. What are they going to do about it is my question. The problem in many cases is that they know even know why. When they know what is the cause or source of the problem, then half of the problems is already solved. What a great puzzle for someone saying he knew the problem but cannot solve it or did not know how to solve it or not doing anything about it.

These are what Ravi Menon said, ‘there are deeper issues of trust, ethics and culture in the financial industry that have to be confronted,…Finance is at risk of becoming more “de personalised”, as long term relationships with customers are replaced by transcient transactions with “counterparts”…departures from ethicalconduct are too easily tolerated as the norm….’ Menon said a lot more and concluded by saying ‘Reform of the financial industry will not be complete until this issue of trust and ethics is addressed,…Without sound ethics, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no confidence. And without confidence, there can be neither growth nor stability.’

Timothy Massad was smarter. He put the blame on the Asian countries for allowing the allowing the financial industry to sink to the bottom. It was not the Americans or the western govts’ fault. The Asians govts must build a strong regulatory framework for derivatives, must agree on a set of reforms to regulate derivatives. He totally forgot about the American quest for deregulations to allow the financial thugs to do as they pleased that led to the global meltdown. But regulations are a big farce when the rot is in the core, in the system. Derivatives are fraudulent financial instruments that are waiting to blow up in the faces of the regulators and the govts. The govts and regulators cannot allow people to simply write money out of nothing, and derivatives are just that, selling pieces of papers as ‘promissory notes’ or gambling chits. There is no point in having all the regulations when the thugs are allowed to write their own rules and how the games are to be played.

Look at the system of the stock markets and how HFT, algos and computers are allowed to operate in the system with unfair advantage over the innocent investors. Can they see anything wrong with them? Or are they turning a blind eye to the crooks and allowed them to do as they pleased, with no regulations but trying to throw the books at the innocent investors and small time speculators? Why no one is seeing the elephant in the class room? They are not duds or idiots for sure.

China is offering Shanghai Exchange as an alternative to the flawed and heavily manipulated American and western modelled stock markets. No HFT and algos to take advantage of the super computers to manipulate the system to rip off innocent investors. The Chinese regulators have been studying the American model and have seen all the faults and would not want to join the farce. The Western players are forcing HongKong to adopt the so called ‘international standards and flawed western model’ to allow them to manipulate the market at will, with no regulations or regulations to their advantage. China would not allow HKSE to go the NYSE or Singapore way.

What is going on? Does anyone know what is going on? Perhaps they knew but looking the other way, pretending that everything is fine. The truth is in the sorry state of the stock market, an industry that is dying. What further proof is needed? Waiting for mortis rigour?

What ethics and trust are they talking about? Everyone is clapping and saying the stock market is doing fine, doing very well, exceptionally well, as planned. Really? When are they going to remove the blinkers?

Pity the Man in the Sandwich

While the young men all over the world are striking out to make a career, to make their pot of gold, our young men are struggling and beating around the bush and straggling in the river, preparing for a role that would see them putting their lives on the stake for the sake of country. And better still, foreigners, plus young men of their peers, were brought in to do the jobs they were supposed to do and eventually become their bosses to order them around in the country they have pledged and trained to die for.

Next change, a new law is being passed to add a new burden to these Men in the Sandwich. Our young men are expected to get married and bring up a family. He is expected to bring up his children to the best he could to be the nuts and bolts of our economy. Now he has to pay for their medical insurance from birth. Gone were the days when a civil servant or a soldier would have the medical needs of his family paid for by the govt and the services. Now the Man in the Sandwich would have to carry the full burden of bringing up his children for the country, to be NS men to keep the machine turning, and to pay for their medical fees to be healthy and alive, from birth.

Another burden, who do you think would be paying for the seniors, the Silver Brigade’s Medishield Life Premiums when they have no income? No prizes for the correct answer. The Man in the Sandwich will have to pay for them or they would be sent to jailrock. How could they not be paying for them when no one else will? Looking from the positive angle, this Man in the Sandwich is likely to be a magician and can pull a lot of money from his hat whenever he needs it. Have faith in the Man in the Sandwich to pay for everything.

In SG50, let’s celebrate this Man in the Sandwich. And if he is unlucky, he would lose his job to foreigners before he is 50 and expecting his children to pay for his Medishield Life Premiums in some cases. And many could look for a very long and rewarding career of plenty as security guards and taxi drivers. The latter is protected by legislation for them, a privilege exclusive for citizens.

Trading generals

Many must have heard to the Israelis offering their generals in exchange for American general when the Americans were all speaking in awe of the feats of the Israelis. And the Israelis were most happy to swap until they disclosed who they wanted for the exchange.

Maybe we can swap of our generals with the Americans. Ours are young and strong with many more good years to go, and highly talented, all scholars, very bright and brilliant. When they walk around the spectators need to wear sunglasses. The only thing the Americans may object would be their pay. They would not be able to afford to pay for your generals. And they will go bankrupt if we offer them 2 for 1 in exchange.

And all we are asking for would be the same generals that the Israelis were asking then, General Motors, General Electrics and General Dynamics. I think it would be a good deal even if we offer them 3 for 1 of theirs. We are producing generals like mass production in a factory. But these 3 American generals are difficult to duplicate.

Just a rehash of an old joke for a Sunday morning. There is something that we can do with so many generals in our armed forces. They should be put to good use. Trading generals is a good thing if it can be done. If not, in the next General Election it will really become a general election, we may be electing more generals into politics. And Annual General Meetings will be the meetings of generals. And the general public will be a public of generals too, generally speaking.

When one is in power, everything is right

When one is in power, everything one said is right, everything one do is right, every reason or excuse is the right reason and right excuse. Often people in power are so intoxicated in their self delusion that they would not want to believe that they can lose power the next day and everything they said, do, and every reason or excuse, will become wrong, not only wrong, but illegal or criminal.

We have seen this repeated over and over again in history when a dictator, or even in so called veneer thin democracy, the despots would be charged and thrown into jail once they lost power. And their henchmen and cronies too will end up in the same fate.

When one is in power, do not get carried away and think that you would not be caught. When your luck runs out, the table will be turned and it would be too late to cry. For those who think they can bulldoze their way through, amend constitutions and laws to their benefit or against the people, pray very hard that you don’t have to face the wrong side of the law. You cannot run and cannot hide. Whatever you do today will be the evidence to hang you high and dry when your turn comes.

It is always good to leave a way out for yourself. Always remember that in a democracy, govt changes like changing diapers. Maybe a dynasty or monarchy would last longer. But they too failed and the last emperor and his families did not end well. History has changed and social structures too, and governing of a country as well. No one can call the shot for a life time. Very few has that good fortune to enjoy that rare privilege. Live well and do not trample on the downtrodden. Do not piss on the ashes. It would be lucky if a phoenix rises from the ashes. If it is not a phoenix but a vindictive monster, things can take a very bad turn.

Do not abuse the new social contract and be grateful to those below, look after them well and be well rewarded. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Yes, you are always right, with a sword in your hand.