GE2015 – The opposition camp shaping up

There was a peace pipe meeting by the Indian Chiefs of the opposition camp to settle some ground rules to avoid a 3 corner fight in the coming GE. This is positive news to know that they would not be so reckless and be party spoilers by trying to fight to see who would not lose his deposit and trying to make every contest counts. Opposition parties that go into an election for the sake of being in an election, in 3 or 4 corner fights when their chances of winning or keeping their deposits are so slim reflects a mentality of stupidity that can be expected of no brainers. Or they could be the rumoured moles participating just to split the votes. You fight an election to win not for some personal ego or spurious reasons.

The NSP called for the pow wow, and hopefully everyone attended the meeting with a sincere heart, and did not go there wearing a mask to hide their real intent. Party spoilers and moles there will be, and they will appear at the right place and right time to prove their worth. And there is nothing the voters can do except to exercise their intelligence to vote them out, take them out of the equation like in the Punggol East by election. It is not easy in a GE as the party spoilers and moles would not wear a badge to be identified.

Yesterday the media highlighted the possibility of more 3 corner fights as more opposition parties are staking their claims in hotly contested GRCs. Marine Parade, Tanjong Pagar, Jurong, West Coast, Holland Bukit Timah were the few mentioned. It was also reported that WP would be contesting in 5 GRCs, SingFirst in 4 and  Reform Party 2. SDP is likely to put up 3 or 4 GRCs, NSP maybe 2 or 3, and SPP, DPP and the rest 1 or 2 each.

With 16 GRCs available, it would mean that every GRC would be contested this time and with more to spare or to be muddled in 3 corner fights. The SMCs would all be contested and there will be no walkovers. What these mean is that statistically there will be enough opposition candidates to cause an upset and a change of govt. With all the seats contested, and if there is a major ground shift, a coalition govt is a possible reality.

What is really important is that the three major parties that could put up a serious challenge with equally good candidates, ie WP, SDP and SingFirst, already could cause an upset by contesting 12 or 13 of the 16 GRCs. 9 GRCs will be enough to form a coalition govt if the SMCs are evenly split.

Would there be a new govt on Sept 13? Time to start thinking. The ball is round this time. Despite the odds, all the planning and scheming and gerrymandering, if George Yeo could be taken down, if Ah Lian and Ah Huat could send the top talents packing, anything can happen now. And who knows, Roy Ngerng could end up the dragon slayer. And if And Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar go to the opposition, it will be all over.

This GE is going to be more unpredictable. One thing for sure, there will be more GRCs going and more ministers would be out of jobs by the sunrise on Sep 13.

Questions for Hsien Loong and the voters

Hsien Loong said these in his conversation with Heng Chee.

“It is our job to think of these issues and to make the best decisions which we can, in our judgment, on your behalf and to account to you, and say to the best of my ability this is what I have decided I have to do,” he said.

“And you may agree with it, you may not agree with it, but I can tell you in complete honesty that I am trying my best to do this on your behalf. And I cannot avoid doing this because otherwise I think I will be letting you down.”

In the above comments it gives the impression that his govt is given unlimited and unrestrained power to decide everything he thinks is right for Singaporeans. It does not matter if Singaporeans agree with him or not.  Heard of the deaf frog ideology?

Does Hsien Loong think he can change the demographic profile of Singapore by flooding the country with foreigners resulting in a changed polity with a different Singaporean identity without the consent of the Singaporeans? Does any elected govt have this authority to do so without going back to the people, going for a referendum? Does anyone really think that anyone who is a PM has a logic  and mind that is so superior to the masses that his thinking is so supreme, that what he thinks is right must be right or so what, I think so and I did it for people, no need to consult the people, happy or not is not important? This kind of thinking is understandable in a monarchy or dictatorship, but in a democracy?

Does his govt has the right to do what it wants with the people’s savings in the CPF just because he thinks it is the right thing to do? Does the govt respect the right of the people to their money?

Does his govt have the right to spend billions to provide thousands of foreigners with scholarships and living allowances without the Singaporeans agreeing to it while Singaporeans have to pay with their own money and many struggling to pay for it?

These decisions have very serious implications on the life and welfare of Singaporeans that are beyond an individual even if he is the PM of the country. How is he to account to the Singaporeans for the harm the policies and decisions could cause them? Would a, ‘I am sorry, let’s move on’ be enough?  We are talking about the lives and well beings of the 3 million odd Singaporean citizens and their children that will come after them.

How is he to account to the Singaporeans when the Singaporeans are telling him ‘No’ to these policies? The consequences of these policies would affect generations of Singaporeans to come when his mandate is only for 5 years and to be renewed again? Or is he saying, if Singaporeans do not like his policies, vote him out? Or is he saying that the majority of the Singaporeans agree to his policies that is why they continue to vote him to form the govt. So it is ok?

I can agree with the last point. If Singaporeans were to vote his party to form the govt again in the next GE, it is an endorsement of his policies and those Singaporeans who disagree, the minority, should just shut up for good. It is the mandate that the Singaporeans gave to him to do as he likes, and approved of them.

The GE is to decide if you approve of the govt’s policies or to stop the govt from continuing with policies that you disagree with and you think are harmful to you and your children’s future. Vote for the PAP if you want more of the same policies. Vote for the opposition if you have had enough of these policies. It is a Yes or No issue, no buts or to regret later and to kpkb and to be ignored after the GE.

The deadly curse of the Medishield Life

How many of you could afford to pay premium to the Medishield Life when you are 70? How many of you could still pay premium when you are 80? How many of you still got money to pay the premium when you are 90, 100, 110?

How many of you could lose your jobs at 55, 60, 65 and could not find a job or retires permanently? Or if you are lucky, find a job as a cleaner and earning enough for 3 meals and think you still got money to pay for the premium?

If you have a lot of money in your CPF and minimum sums account to pay, good for you. If you have children to pay for you, good for you, but sorry for your children.

How many Singaporeans working overseas for years and still must pay for this Medishield Life premium when they are also paying for the medical insurance in their country of residence? Would all the PRs in Australia, NZ, Malaysia, UK and US and other countries, still holding Singapore passport, be expected to pay for this premium?

How many of you think this is fair and equitable for the oldies and Singaporeans working and residing overseas to pay for this premium? Why should they be paying when they are not consuming and using the medical facilities here and still have to pay premium in two countries? What is the difference between this and extortion? This govt does not see this as something wrong and unacceptable. They only think in terms of power logic. They think they are right or what they think is right and they will do it because you elected them to be the govt. And it is done for the good of your interest. They think Singaporeans are stupid and helpless and cannot do anything about it. They must be taking the GE for granted or just a formality. Sure elected to form the next govt and to do the ‘right’ thing for the Singaporeans.

Why are jobless retirees with no income, the ah kongs and the ah mahs, be forced to pay for Medishield Life premium for life? What can a govt or country with so much reserves do to help this group of people?

Some kong cums think it is right and ok for the oldies to keep paying and paying when they have no income and when the premium will keep going higher and higher as they grow older.

Pure hearts, hearts of gold, caring and compassionate? My foot!

There is an urgent need to review this scheme. It must not be a profit making scheme. Any surpluses must be ploughed back to reduce the premium. There must be transparency in the computation of operating cost and fees.

The premium for the oldies should be borne by the govt. A committee should review this and stop forcing the oldies to keep paying and paying. Alternatively the oldies should be allowed to opt out of the scheme. If not, many oldies would not be able to pay and would end up in jail with whatever savings in their CPF emptied. Heard of robbing the grandpas and grandmas?

Singaporeans overseas who are paying for their respective medical insurance schemes need not have to be forced to pay premium for Medishield Life here. Why pay for double coverage?

PS. Would Singaporeans who are PRs overseas and still have CPF accounts be made to contribute to the Medishield Life, especially those quitters coming back to scrounge for free meals? : )

The Doctrine of Discovery – Not knowing history, not knowing you are a fool

Professor Robert J Miller wrote the following paragraphs in the Seattle Post –the Intelligencer with the title ‘Lewis & Clark, The Doctrine of Discovery and American Indians’. 

‘Meriwether Lewis and William Clark sit high in the pantheon of American folk heroes. Even today, Lewis and Clark are viewed as brave adventurers who went where no one had gone before, exploring and conquering the wilderness for the betterment of America.

There is another way to view Lewis and Clark, however, which is nearer to the truth. Lewis and Clark were military officers serving American empire and manifest destiny and they were the vanguard of American policies that ultimately robbed the indigenous peoples of nearly everything they possessed.’

Many of the celebrated American pioneers like Davy Crockett and many more, were transformed in American legends as heroes but were in fact Indian killers and Indian land grabbers.  The brutal and systematic execution and termination of the American Indians were stories that western media did not like to brag about or did not have the stomach to write about.

I will just quote a few paragraphs from The Doctrine of Discovery and US Expansion to enlighten those who think they are enlightened on early American history and European conquest of the world.

The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1787,

‘The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians, their land and property shall never be taken without their consent, and, in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed.’

In 1794, ‘the US government sent a regiment led by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne to conquer a confederation of American Indian tribes attempting to keep hold of their lands. At the Battle of Fallen Timbers, a band of 800 Native Americans was slaughtered and 5,000 acres of crops were destroyed. ‘

In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed, ‘which authorized the President to remove the remaining Eastern Indians to lands west of the Mississippi. Between 1938 and 1939, under President Andrew Jackson, 15,000 Cherokee Indians were forcibly taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts, and made to march some in chains – a thousand miles to present day Oklahoma. Over 4,000 Cherokee died from hunger, disease and exhaustion on what they called Nunna dual Tsuny or the Trail of Tears.’

The rape of the Native Indians and their lands started in 1095 when ‘Pope Urban II issued an edict – the Papal Bull Terra Nullius (meaning empty land). It gave the kings and princes of Europe the right to “discover” or claim land in non Christian areas….These edicts treated non Christians as uncivilized and subhuman, and therefore without rights to any land or nation. Christian leaders claimed a God-given right to take control of all lands and used this idea to justify war, colonization, and even slavery…. In 1823, the Doctrine of Discovery was written into US law as a way to deny land right to the Native Americans in the Supreme Court… ‘

And in 1845, John O’Sullivan gave the Doctrine of Discovery another twist, calling it Manifest Destiny …’the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty…’

The Doctrine of Discovery, sounding so innocent, was the seed of European conquest of the world and the colonization of non Christian people, including butchery and massacres of natives and the robbing of their land. Liberty and freedom were only for the European Christians, not for the non Christians, not for the American Natives, not for the Blacks and not for Africans and Asians.

Know your history and absolve yourself from being made a fool of by the western powers and media.

GE2015 – A contest for nobilities and aristocrats or for the average Singaporeans

This GE is getting more interesting by the days. There are many ways to stack the cards for the contest. There is the very serious challenge concerning many issues and policies that would divide the people and many would affect them personally, especially their pockets and the future of their children. The contest could also be featured as a contest between the nobilities and aristocrats wanting to rule the country and people and the ordinary people wanting to rule the country themselves.

To the nobles and aristocrats, they have virtually everything material, and the money to live a very good life they are born with. They are natural in living a life of plenty. Why would they want to waste their time meddling with so many complex problems of the people and risk the wrath of the people for doing things wrongly? I think they are doing all these for altruistic reasons, not for money or self interest. You may disagree. It is not easy to find selfless people in this pragmatic society.  Thank God there are so many living among us. They want to work for the people, to serve the people, to make life good for the people. It simply says that these are good people with hearts of gold, or pure hearts. As Chan Chun Sing commented, anyone wanting to stand for election must have pure hearts and the nobles and aristocrats have pure hearts, hearts of gold for sure.

The peasants, the ordinary Singaporeans, by extrapolations, must have questionable hearts, very likely not pure. So before they stand up to want to be elected, they would need to have their hearts examined to confirm their hearts are pure. Pure means pure or whatever that means. One thing is for sure, no bad hearts or dirty hearts. How did the PAP come up with so many natural nobles and aristocrats with pure hearts, or how did they know? I dunno, but they do know. That is why they are telling people not to contest the election if their hearts are not pure. Would this be a prerequisite in the election, candidates must satisfy the election committee that their hearts are pure?

So, would the ordinary people vote for nobles and aristocrats with pure hearts to serve them, or would they vote for ordinary people with ordinary hearts, maybe not so pure, to serve them?  I will definitely vote for anyone if I know that his heart is pure. My problem is that I cannot tell and did not know how to tell if someone’s heart is pure or not.

Can anyone help me on this? Then I can blog about it to tell the ordinary Singaporeans how to determine what is a pure heart and who has a pure heart. Maybe it is a given, nobles and aristocrats have pure hearts to want to serve the people. Never mind that if their lifestyle needs millions to be satisfied. If the hearts are pure, it is worth every cent paid to them. Paying the ordinary Singaporeans could be cheaper as they don’t need to eat XO ‘chai tau kuay’ or fine cuisine. But their hearts not sure pure or not. That is a given.

Natural nobilities and aristocracy have natural pure hearts. They came from Pure Land, resided in churches, temples, monasteries and holy grounds up in the clouds. The average and ordinary Singaporeans are likely to come from the heartlands, a bit smelly to some, and take trains. Not being pure is quite natural. The best they could offer is a good heart with cheaper taste and cheaperer desires.