IDA fake degree case. Who is abetting the crime?

Nisha Padmanabhan, a new citizen employed by IDA as an Application Consultant has claimed to have a MBA from a degree mill called Southern Pacific University. IDA has replied that they employed her based on her first degree from a reputable university, Mumbai University. The issue here is the false claim of having a MBA that is equivalent to a piece of junk in her resume. Is this cheating, lying, is this a crime? If it is not, case closed. If it is a crime, why is there no action taken against the culprit, and who is supposed to take action against her?

When a crime is committed, in this case it is expected that IDA, the organisation that discovered the crime should take all necessary actions to terminate her employment and to make a police report. So far nothing is being done and the culprit is presumably still employed by IDA, standing for Infocomm Development Authority, a govt organisation, an authority within the govt organisation. Is IDA condoning the act?

Presumably a crime is committed. I stand corrected as IDA did not seem to think anything is wrong with it. So I am not sure if there is any wrongdoing in this case. And if there is no wrongdoing, please forgive me for raising this issue. What is a crime and what is not a crime, what is a petty crime, what is a serious crime, the whole thing is so grey that it is so difficult to tell. Really, it is so difficult to tell. Perhaps one can deduce the severity of this incident from circumstantial evidence. The main media does not think this is newsworthy, an indication that there is nothing to it, no crime. The Police are not taking any action, so no crime. Or perhaps the Police have not been informed or no one makes any police report, or the number of police reports is less than 20.

Ok, after my clarifications, and to protect myself from making wrongful allegation that there is a crime but actually no crime, lets assume that it is a crime, assume only hor, forging or making false claims on one’s resume and qualifications, the law and legal processes would have been activated and the law enforcement officers would be moving their butts, like the very serious case of Amos Yee when 8 officers were reported to have arrested him in his home and handcuffed him before taking him away. Looks like this case, if there is a case, is going to be a very minor case, a minor infringement of the law.

And MOM and ICA also did not say or do anything. Aren’t they the regulating and approving agencies for legitimate job seekers and new citizens in the country? Aren’t these agencies supposed to police and regulate such ‘minor’ infringement of our employment and immigration regulations?

Do I see that a crime has been committed and no one is taking any action? Do I see the exposure of a forgery or false declaration and the enforcement agencies not doing anything, or not wanting to do anything? My past experience in HR says this is a police case.

But of course, our law enforcement agencies are not sleeping. They are dutyl bound to enforce and uphold the law and regulations, and if something is wrong, a crime being committed, they will jump off their butts and act on it immediately. The Amos Yee case is a good example of super efficiency of the Police and the judicial system.

Can I therefore conclude that there is nothing wrong with this case and it is all a red herring, a wild goose chase? Maybe a minister would make statement that everything is in order and we should move on. Maybe some authoritative bloggers, with good connections, would say just laugh it off. Maybe someone would warn the social media and bloggers not to spread rumours.

Is there a case or no case? I am a layman and just wondering aloud. And to the best of my judgement, from all the circumstantial evidence and the silence from the authority, there is no case. Case closed. Let’s move on. No crime has been committed. There is no cheating, or no intent to cheat. Oh, for this last part, someone from IDA commented that this Nisha took the MBA from the degree mill for fun or something like that. Putting the MBA in her CV must also be for fun.

I have wasted so much time writing about nothing. Really, believe me, trust me. We are a rule of law country. The law is fair and transparent and efficient. What is troubling is, should a hypothetical situation like this occur: The person who saw a crime did nothing, turned a blind eye. The police supposed to apprehend the criminal did nothing. And the regulators did not regulate and allowed the crime to flourish. In simple words, ‘bo cheng hu’.

Who is the real criminal? Or who is abetting the crime?

Miracles are happening in Sin City

We are going to see more miracles happening in this city state. We just had one miracle a few weeks ago. Unbelieveable, and more miracles are going to happen. We have self sufficiency in water, which is a near miracle but really not that spectacular. Look at the Garden by the Bay. This is not mere cosmetic piece of white elephant. It has many strategic uses. We plebians with our little knowledge could not see how important this monument is. Please allow me to enlighten you people with the great value in store and how it could create more value than you think.

Last week a miracle happened inside the Garden. They regulated the temperature of the enclosure to simulate winter, probably leading to snow flakes falling. That is not the miracle I am referring to. It is the olive tree. Can you imagine an olive tree flowering and bearing fruits, yes olives, in the equator? This is a miracle for sure.  Nature could not do that, God could not do that or God did not make it so. Olives only bear fruits in temperate countries, not in hot tropical land. And the value of this is that we can be self sufficient in our supply of olives and olive oil. No need to import them from the Mediterranean. We can grow our very own olives in large scale production.

This is only the beginning. Think of the juicy apples and oranges, the pears and the succulent strawberries. Miracles can happen everyday in the Garden. What, you can buy an olive for 20c a piece in Fairprice? What, an apple for 50c?

Come on, miracles are priceless. Not the same. The Tourist Board should rename the Garden as Miracle Garden and sure to attract more visitors. Come and see a miracle. Miracles do happen now and then.

PS. How much does it cost to produce that miracle olive?

God is forgiveness

I must confess again that I am not a Christian and I am not representing any religious group when I say God is forgiveness or things about God.  From the little I know, God is Almighty and can never be harmed by the words of a boy. And He is all loving and all kindness, with a big heart. God will have forgiven the boy for any blasphemous remarks against him. He is not petty. Any believer who is hurt by Amos Yee’s remark and disagree with my comment on the kindness of God, please feel free to disagree with me, a layman, and not a believer.

I think it would be a very nice gesture for the heads or elders of the religion to step forward to forgive the boy for his rude comments.  The magnanimity and kindness will be felt by everyone, by Amos Yee and his parents, that God is kind and forgiving. God will not be going after his blood for a juvenile rant.

So far I have not seen or heard any statement from anyone that Amos is forgiven. Maybe this boy’s words cannot be forgiven. Maybe this boy has said something that is unforgiveable.

Is there anything that is unforgiveable? I have written a few articles about forgiving and I also said that there are times when it is not right to forgive when the attacker is not a child but a smart ass and doing harm to others for selfish reasons and consciously knowing the harm he is causing to the victim. The vicious intent to do harm to promote one’s selfish cause is an entirely different ballgame.

I think Amos Yee, due to his tender age, does not fit into the category of assholes that should not be forgiven.  Not forgiving an asshole is not to encourage him to continue to be an asshole and enjoying it. 

Amen.

Are we moving towards a kinder society?

Below is an article by Andrew Loh posted in the TRE about Amos.  I share Andrew's angst about the case and hope the kindest person in Singapore, Willaim Wan, would say a few kind words for Amos Yee. This boy could have said the wrong things and ruffled some feathers.  I believe he is just an impressionable kind going through the paces of adolescence and unlikely to pose a security threat to anyone. He is precocious and very articulate and well read.

The objective of the Singapore Kindness Movement is to build a nation of kindness. So far I am waiting to see some kindness shown to this boy, not necessary by the Kindness Movement but by the average Singaporeans. Amos is all alone. His parent is not posting bail and Amos would have to spend time behind bars until kindness appears.

Here is the article 'Why are we over killing Amos?'

22 police reports filed against him, 8 policemen at his home to arrest him (while he was in pajamas), handcuffed at home, handcuffed in court, bail set at $20,000, new conditions of removing his fundraising blog post (he was trying to raise funds to pay his legal fees) and to report to police station every morning at 9am.

All this along with charges of sedition, harassment, obscenity, and a biased mainstream media publishing misleading reports about his mother, so-called celebrities in a public forum pontificating about how his parents are to blame, together with pro-PAP psychos calling him names, questioning his parents, threatening to cut off his penis and stuff it into his mouth, etc.

Welcome to the PAP’s first world nation in the 21st century.

And oh, the boy is 16-years old, in case you forgot.

Whatever your political leanings, and whatever you think of Amos Yee, we really need to think of what kind of society we are becoming.
—————-
Footnote:
“Lee Kuan Yew says Singapore needs more mavericks, geniuses and independent thinkers” – AFP, 2003.
Andrew Loh

LKY’s last wish – Think fengshui

With the public appeal by his children to demolish his house, it is as good as being done. The house in 38 Oxley Road would be gone. And given the urgency and efficiency of the govt and contractors you can bet that it would disappear as quickly as the Harry Potter waves his magic wand.

But wait, wait. Please do not rush into such a major decision without consulting the fengshui master. Maybe Hsien Loong has already done that then go ahead if the fengshui master said it is a good thing to do. I am no expert in fengshui, but to demolish a house or even buying a house or renovating a house, if one can afford it, it is good to get a second opinion from the fengshui master or masters.

This house in Oxley Road is no ordinary house. Anyone would tell you that it is sitting on a very auspicious fengshui location. No need to ask the fengshui masters. Just look at the wealth and good fortune it has brought to the Lee family! 3 generations of prosperity and good descendants. And don't forget the good fortune of Singapore. With such a good fengshui, no one in his right mind would want to touch the house. Many would not even do any renovation on it so as not to disturb the good fengshui. And maybe that was what the Lee family did in the last 40 years. The house is as original as it could be. There must be a very good reason. They can afford to turn it into a multi storey modern home with the flip of a finger. Money is not a problem. So you can guess the reason.

Now out of the blue the children are so eager and ready to get it demolish. Is the fengshui of the house changing and turning bad that it has to be demolished? If so, well, better do it fast. If no or not sure, don’t they think it is worth to spend a few dollars to hire the best fengshui masters, get a second or third opinion, on the expediency of demolishing it, to tear it down? You do not tear down a house of good fengshui just like that. That is what the Chinese believe even if they are not steep in the art of fengshui. Better be safe than be sorry.

What do you think? Is it a good idea to tear the house down from the perspective of fengshui?