LKY in hospital since 5 Feb

In the news this evening, LKY has been hospitalised since 5 Feb for a severe bout of pneumonia. His condition has stabilised and doctors are monitoring his condition. He is supported by mechanical ventilation and remains in the ICU

Please do not speculate or make unnecessary comments on LKY's condition. Just take this as an important piece of news. During the CNY celebration let's be careful and discreet with what we say. It is always best to say good things about people during CNY than unpleasant things.

Spare the civil servants

Chee Hean reported that cases of abuse against civil servants are on the rise. Among the agencies affected are:

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), Housing and Development Board (HDB), Inland Revenue Authority (IRAS), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of Health (MOH).

Why are civil servants becoming the target of public abuses? They are just carrying out their duties as officers of the ministries or govt? There could be many reasons, like people getting out of the bed from the wrong side, had a bad night’s sleep, losing money in gambling, losing their jobs, money no enough, and the list could go on and on. These reasons are not important. What is important is why the anger is being vented against civil servants.

There could always be the case of the individuals at fault, the abuser or the abused, a case of bad attitude. But to state that it is against civil servants, it meant something else. It implied that the abusers are angry with the govt and taking it out on the civil servants as an excuse.

Another major reason could be bad policies. When policies are bad, and hurt the people the wrong way, the people will be angry. But this does not lead to abuses unless it becomes a case of ‘beh tahan’.  When policies are badly thought out, contrived, when they got out of control and hitting the people badly, when the pain is unbearable, the docile and meek citizens would flare up as a last resort.

The other possibility is the politicisation of the civil service and civil servants. Are the civil servants carrying out their duties fairly and impartially or are they affected by political influence? This is difficult to determine as what is political or what is not is a matter of perception unless it is outright abuses. When the later, then anger will flow and the reaction of the people can be unpredictable, can be violent and can lead to lighting fire, causing bodily harm.

The civil servants must be spared from becoming the bogey man, becoming an excuse for abuses if it is not their fault. Spare the civil servants from getting into a compromising position, to compromise their integrity and objectivity. Remove whatever sources of conflict in their jobs and let them work objectively, fairly and honestly to serve the interest of the people and to serve the people, as civil servants.

Now, would there be a need to set up a committee to investigate this new development? Would the committee members be neutral people that could provide a neutral view and findings and a decent and workable solution to the problem? Spare the civil servants from being compromised or abused by all quarters. Let them carry out their jobs with dignity and respect that money cannot buy.

Roy Ngerng using Boon Wan and Shanmugam’s templates

Below are a few paragraphs extracted from Roy Ngerng’s latest post in his blog http://thehearttruths.com.

 ‘… I replaced what the PAP ministers and members of parliament had said about the AHPETC with what can also be said about the PAP’s management of our CPF. The hypocrisy of what the PAP has said will then be revealed. (The change of words are in italics.)

GIC and Temasek Holding receive large sums of CPF monies from Singaporeans. These are all public monies. As stewards of public funds, GIC and Temasek Holdings must keep proper accounts and records, and maintain adequate control over their assets. Who has paid and who has not? How is the money spent? Is it properly used? Is anybody doing anything wrong? … These and many other questions directly affect the interests and safety of the Singaporeans. They are not trivial technical issues raised merely to satisfy the accountants or the auditors, or to meet financial regulations. Unfortunately, …(there are) serious questions about the reliability and accuracy of their financial and accounting systems.

There is always the temptation, when the GIC and Temasek Holdings are financially strapped, to postpone saving, and say it will make up the shortfall later, or worse, to put its hand into the cookie jar, to draw from the savings to satisfy immediate needs. Just spend, use the savings first. Sounds appealing, but the GIC and Temasek Holdings will then be simply running down the reserves and mortgaging the future of Singaporeans away.

“GIC and Temasek Holdings did not adequately manage the conflicts of interests of related parties arising from ownership interests of their key officers”.”….

The Chairman of GIC and CEO of Temasek Holdings are, by the way, husband and wife….

 “Taken in totality, the PAP government cannot possibly adequately manage the conflicts of interest involved in related party transactions”. This means that the PAP government may not have obtained the best value for the moneys paid to these related parties. Or worse, there could be opportunities of wrong-doing or unethical practices which the PAP government may not be able to detect or prevent.

Singaporeans and taxpayers need to know that their monies are properly spent and they are getting best value for money. When these contracts are awarded to parties related to the PAP government, the PAP government needs to be upfront withSingaporeans as well as with taxpayers at large, so that there is transparency and proper scrutiny….

We do not know the exact state of the GIC and Temasek Holding’s financial position.

Something is seriously wrong with the PAP government. They paint a picture of financial mismanagement, incompetence and negligence in corporate governance….

Unfortunately, throughout this saga, we have found the PAP MPs running the PAP government to be evasive, unresponsive and misleading. In response to legitimate queries from Singaporeans, they stone-walled, deflected the queries, made false or dishonest claims, raised irrelevant excuses and sought to confuse the public with a flurry of red-herrings.

First, their lack of transparency – they failed to disclose things on time; they failed to submit reports they should be submitting. Every time we reminded them, again and again, they came up with yet another excuse.

The government  need competent, honest people and proper systems to serve Singaporeans well. Good intentions and bland assurances alone are not sufficient. Elected MPs need to supervise the work of the government, GIC and Temasek Holdings. While they enjoy wide autonomy, they also have huge responsibility. And they are accountable to Singaporeans. They have statutory duties but they are also subject to national laws….

What concerns me is that the PAP government’s actions are clearly unlawful….

The rhetoric from the PAP is always about helping the poor man, the reality is that the PAP took CPF money from the man in the street to give to their friends in the GIC and Temasek Holdings.

The PAP keep saying there’s been no loss (of CPF monies from the more than $100 billion that the GIC and Temasek Holdings lost in 2008). Maybe there was no one taking money through the back door in the dark of the night, there was no need because the money was taken from the front door in broad daylight through all this overcharging.

The second major problem arising from the facts is lack of transparency, lack of disclosure. First, the facts do not seem to have been fully disclosed to all Singaporeans. And second, there seems to have been no proper discussion of the conflicts at all.

Active, persistent non-disclosure. Obviously, deliberate. And the consequence of all of this? Of the billions that were paid tothe GIC and Temasek Holdings, who knows how much was justifiable?

The PAP have been quick to say that despite all the problems, no CPF monies have been lost. Can the PAP honestly say that no CPF monies have been lost? When the PAP ministers and members of parliament act in breach of their fiduciary duties; and pay the GIC and Temasek Holdings billions of dollars? Overpayment to a related party is not a loss?....

You can read the full article in Roy’s blog. I assure you it is pretty long as normal of Roy’s writing and with charts as well to show.

Simple joy of being grandpa

Watching grandchildren growing up happily in their innocence is a simple contentment to many grandparents at a time like welcoming the new year.

This is one of the things that I do with my camera, to capture the days when the grandchildren are growing up.

Clash, Competition, Cooperation and Collusion of Civilisation

The 21^st Century is setting a new trend in global competition for development, growth and prosperity of people and nations. Up till the 20^th Century, nations triumphed and prospered by war, conquest, exploitation and domination over countries and people. Till the very end of the 20^th Century, the mindset and strategies of western powers continued to be bogged down by the past, to dominate, control and rule the world for their own well being. The Cold War might be over but divide and rule, and containment as a policy for world supremacy remains the main policy thrust of the Americans, supported by their western allies.

The rise of China as an economic and military super power and expected to give the Americans a run for their money for pole position is vindication that the containment policy is not working, or not effective. China is on a roll despite all the obstacles placed on its path, trade sanctions, trade barriers, blockages, threats, potholes and many other methods that were not seen or spoken in the open. China and the US, representing the East versus West models for achieving economic growth and prosperity are in direct competition and also cooperation are being watched closely by the rest of the world.

There are several distinct characteristics to the two models. The American model features military power, use of power and dominance, and a complex polity of diverse people, culture and ideas, democracy and capitalism. The Chinese model is one of economic growth with equality among nations, big and small as its foundation, a homogenous people in a sense, and a new concoction of communism and capitalism in various degrees of combination. The US, to some extent Europe, is the representative of the 20^th Century western model for growth and development. From the East, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hongkong, derived their growth from primarily a relatively more homogenous society but a mixed of capitalism, democracy and authoritarian govt model.

The West, particularly the US, became rich and powerful riding on conquest and exploitation of people and countries. The Europeans took everything from the American natives forcefully, terminating them, and exploited the labour of Africa and other parts of the world, and their natural resources to build the foundation for a prosperous country. It then benefited from a mix pot of immigrants mainly from Europe to drive the growth engines under a democratic system of govt and a laissez fair economy under capitalism.

The prosperity of China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hongkong was achieved without resorting to conquest and exploitation of other countries and people. They were the victims of exploitation and conquest but grew to what they are today, through the industry and drive of their own people, and from borrowing the economic models of growth from the West. There was an absence of power and sphere of influence by military means. They prosper today without robbing the colonies or other country’s wealth and resources.

Which of these two economic systems would emerge as the role model for the 21^st Century? A country of diverse people and ideas, economic and individual freedom, democracy and capitalism or a homogenous society, high involvement of the state, and a democracy that is authoritarian in nature unlike the western model, but without resorting to military power and conquest?  The shining model of national wealth in Europe is taking a hit without the free resources and people for exploitation from the colonies. Europe is in decline, in rapid decline when left to depend on their own limited resources and ingenuity, without conquest and colonisation. Europe is expending its past accumulated wealth seized from their colonies fast, and must look for a new economic and political order to revive its wealth and glorious past. The Americans are slowing down and seeing China and eastern countries making a bid to over take them in all fields, without the use of the gun.

What would the 21^st Century turn out to be when countries and civilisation compete and cooperate in a highly complex inter related and inter dependent shrinking world when all economic and human activities are tightly intertwined, where there is intense competition but demanding cooperation as necessary for growth? Both worlds, and all the countries, need each other to grow and prosper together. The USA and China is a very good example of interdependence even as they tried to compete and try to undermine the advantages and benefits of the other for a bigger piece of the pie.

Would the gun be used to scuttle the peace and development in this century when one party feels that it is unable to compete fairly, with ingenuity and industry of its people and system for a better life for its people? Would the mix match potpourri of the US perform better than the homogenous economies of the East, including Japan? Is war the necessary and inevitable solution to the well being of civilisation like in the 20^th Century?