The new mode of transport, walking or cycling

The opening of the Downtown Line was supposed to bring more options to commuters traveling to and from the city. It is also touted as the good news for the future, to lesser dependence on the convenience of cars and private transport. So, go forth and spread the good news. With so many train lines criss crossing the island, going anywhere would now be a breeze and super efficient. This would lead to more car owners leaving their cars behind or not even wanting to pay for the cut throat prices of car ownership. Singapore is working towards a car light city. I can’t help but to repeat, this is the good news.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday morning saw the East West Line slowing to a crawl during morning peak hours. Many commuters were late for work. Thursday morning, the new Downtown Line was disrupted in less than a week from its test run. Lateness has become a new normal, due to train stoppages, slowdowns or breakdowns. We cannot expect to push a button and everything works anymore.

What are the options when the most important public transport is no longer reliable and cars are so super expensive? Walking and cycling. These two modes of moving from place to place will become the alternative to public transport. Singaporeans must be prepared to use their heads, oops, I mean use their legs, to move around.

It is time to promote healthy living by walking from one end of the island to the other end, from Changi Point to Tuas and vice versa, from Woodlands to World Trade Centre and back.  It is good for Singaporeans. It will not affect their quality of life. In fact they will be more healthy and fit, like the coolies of the 1940s and 50s. Just get use to it and pretend it is good for health, healthy living, quality lifestyle. Better still, promote it as the new aspiration of Singaporeans. Condition the Singaporeans to love walking and bicycles and to sneer at car ownership as something bad. Stop all the promotions and advertisements on driving posh cars just like stopping the advertisements on cigarettes.

And to make sure the good news of lesser cars in this city becomes a reality, introduce an additional lifestyle tax of $100k for car ownership. That would leave only the multi millionaires and billionaires to be the only people able to own cars. And when the population of cars has fallen, there will be no need for all the ERP gantries or car parks in HDB, freeing more space to increase the population to 10m or 20m.

Singaporeans must be rejoicing at the good news on how good life will be going forward, without cars and with so many train lines to bring them to wherever they want to go.

Living at the Edge of Tomorrow

by MIKOspace

I began last year into a new cycle of my life

Towards the light of truth.

Living a life by choice, not by chance,

Listening only to my inner voice,

Not the random thoughts of others;

Without any delusions and illusions of false religions, myths, Superstitions, man-made beliefs, lies and more true lies,

Or the false promises of competition and domination,

Celestial hope and economic exploitation.

In 2016, I shall continue the pursuit of truth

Beyond conflated myths, facts, and fiction,
To discover the true faith that bridges there to here.
Faith has strengthen as unbelief & disbelief debunked,
Knowledge and wisdom overcome delusions & illusions,
Happiness discovered by sharing joy and well-being with others,

As life's journey continues at the edge of tomorrow;

In 2016 at the edge of tomorrow,
Many will wish that tomorrow will not come;

For them, tomorrow is a dreamy mirage,

A mere extension of their yesterday.

Wake up in 2016;

Make changes, not excuses,

Re-create your tomorrow
And banish tomorrow's inevitability

Of broken hearts and shattered dreams,

Of unrequited love and promises unfulfilled,
Of disappointments and pain.

Of lies and more true lies,

Of elusive happiness and dreamy mirages.

2016 shall bring new pathways and fresh challenges

And unimaginable opportunities;
Doors to unexplored prospects shall open,

Embark fresh journeys to the other side.

Seize the moment - carpe diem?

But, why?  No, wait.
Be patience - life is short, why rush through?
Life’s an adventure, not a race; 

Pause to smell the flowers,
Appreciate creation diversity,
Understand the multicultural palette
In life's awesome mix of trials and tribulations,
Embrace the mystery of pain and suffering

Along moments of rare joy and happiness.

Questions the very purpose of Creation;
Can there be peace without wars?
Joy & happiness without pain & sadness?
Abundance without poverty?
Living without sickness & disease?
Sharing without exploiting?
Collaboration without domination?
Loving without hurting or being hurt?
To live like no tomorrow?

Yes, we can.

Just a little consideration for others;

Just giving from what we have;

Just sharing a little more from our abundance;

Just be happy adding value for a little less profit;

Just being more gracious and less calculative;

Just be joyful to assist and serve without gain;

Just go make poverty history;

Just win the race against racism;

Just a little more love for your loved ones;

Just pray for the power of love

To vanquish the love for power.

Just choose to do the things that others won’t

So that you can always do the things that they can’t;

It is so simple to make a better tomorrow.

At the edge of tomorrow, peep into your future
To live for today like no tomorrow.
Today, surrender your desires, greed and ambitions.
Give up this life today;

Leave the life you have been pursuing
And embrace the life that has been waiting for you,

Letting go the things passed for they are past,

Free yourself and choose freedom for life.

Expect nothing in return,

Know that life is no house of cards,

Believe not in promises ancient or recent,

Gratitude is not a quid pro quo,

Your efforts are rarely appreciated,

Nor your brilliant talents discovered.

Least understood shall be your love

And you can be hurt only by those you love. 

Yesterday is past and finished,

Decide what your tomorrow can be

At the edge of tomorrow today.

Standing at the edge of 2016,

I look afar, distant, up and down,

Squinting my eyes for tomorrow’s light.

I could feel the wind across my face,

The breeze of hope from tomorrow, I ponder.

A distant noise beckons in my bones,

A rumbling, pulsing and purring voice;

So surreal and not seems human.

I could see it with my heart

And feel in my mind.

The light expands as I stare into it

Filling the space of our distance from here to there;

Out of a sudden, I could see it

Staring back at me, oh my tomorrow,

The life awaiting me beckons;

And today shall begin again

The first day of the rest of my life

As I live the edge of tomorrow.

PS. The above piece is by Michael Heng and is a good start to the 2017.  My advice to most people who are deep into reading religious scriptures is to first understand the context in which the scriptures were written, the knowledge of the time and the intellect of the religious teachers or script writers then.

Any average graduate today would have accessed to far more knowledge and information about the universe and life and he should use this knowledge intelligently and not be awed by the ancients knowing how little they knew then.

The other point is that there is a very big difference between spiritual knowledge and the values of what is good and bad of wanting to live as a good person of God or religion. Spiritual knowledge must be acquired by spiritual training and is in a totally different realm and anyone who put into practice would acquire them. This knowledge cannot be acquired by reading religious text or getting a Ph D. And a practitioner without any academic training or learning, an illiterate, could still acquire it and be a master in his own right for knowing the spiritual world that a non practitioner or a believer would not know.

Khairy also ‘beh tahan’

‘The houses with the ‘crosses’ in Langkawi. Now repainted…We waste too much time on stupid issues.’ Khairy Jamaluddin, Youth and Sports Minister of Malaysia.

Former Cabinet Minister Zaid Ibrahim was quoted to be unhappy with the setting up of a Malay Mall operated only by Malay stall holders and a new airline, Rayani Air, that would not serve alcohol, with stewardesses wearing tudungs and reading Islamic prayers on take off, as bad commercial ideas capitalizing on Islam for profit.

I have not made any comment on the above to avoid being attacked by a dog hiding in the corner of this blog to accuse me for being insensitive and anti Islam or anti Malay. I am glad that progressive bumiputra leaders could see rubbish and would stand up to call them rubbish.  At the rate these unproductive and regressive protests continue, things would only get more ridiculous and the bumiputras would only get more angry and uncontrollable when they should be directing their energy and time on more productive things to uplift the well beings of fellow bumiputras.

The timely intervention by Zaid and Khairy would hopefully bring a stop to such wasteful and destructive energy. And hopefully they are strong enough and not become targets of attacks for being anti Islam or anti bumiputras. As someone commented, how would the bumiputras deal with cross road junctions? Are they going to demolish them for being Christian in nature? Would all the Cross Streets be renamed to Crescent Streets or something that has nothing to do with the cross?

Malaysian leaders should lead the bumiputras, if they are not interested in the general Malaysian population, towards more productive and progressive pursuits to improve their lives and well beings. They should not be stopping the bumiputras from crossing the streets or any cross over activities or events because they are related to the cross, literally. Please don’t be cross just because I write about it in my blog.

The happenings and achievements of the year

The USA’s achievements of the year, launching Apple iphone6, forming TTP, sailing warship and flying warplanes to challenge China, sending more boots into Syria, signing more military pacts with more American allies, issuing more threats and sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The achievements of China, launching One Belt One Road, forming AIIB, signing contracts to build bullet trains in Indonesia, Thailand and the USA, launching new brand names like Alibaba, Xiaomi, reclaiming islands from the sea, building train network to Europe and Africa.

What are the achievements of Singapore? Celebrating SG50, found a buyer for NOL, making Kopitiam and NTUC Fairprice the new brand names of emerging enterprises, Khaw Boon Wan incharge of running the train system, new train downtown line, hosting American spy planes to conduct Freedom of Navigation in South China Sea, new museum and art galleries, SGX winning the best regulated stock exchange in the world, building smart cities in India. The list is very long.

Singapore probably achieved more than the two super powers, not forgetting punching above its weight. I could have added buying F35s but not sure if the deal is on or off. Oh, planning to have lesser cars and more car free days and more walking and bicycle lanes. This is the new aspiration of Singaporeans, not to buy cars.

Happy New Year to everyone.

China should say a big thank you to the USA

This is what visiting Iraq Prime Minister said and reported in China Daily.

‘Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told China Daily on Wednesday.

In an interview on the second day of his first visit to China since taking office in September last year, al-Abadi also voiced confidence over increasing crude oil exports to China, as Iraq is "hoping to double oil exports in the coming years".

He stressed the key role of railways in Iraq and plans to expand the network to about 5,000 kilometers from the current 2,000 km.

Iraq, after the upheaval of recent years, is in dire need of infrastructure as it beefs up economic growth.

Al-Abadi confirmed that Chinese companies "are very interested" in expanding the railway network. Earlier on Wednesday, he attended a meeting of business leaders representing up to 60 Chinese companies involved in sectors including telecommunications, infrastructure and insurance.

"They bring me their technology. ... I think they can expand the network in Iraq," he said, adding that the expanded network "can act both for the people and for goods”’

I am not sure what to say. Are the Americans trying to do a favour to China or the Arab countries by bombing them to Stone Age and allowing China to come in and rebuild these flattened countries?  Would Iraq and other Arab countries be grateful to the Americans for doing them such a big favour, leveling their countries to rubbles and make them easier to rebuild?

I know China would not have to say thank you as their effort to rebuild these broken and destroyed countries would be attacked by the Americans and American media in the name of exploitation and taking advantage of the Arab countries.  They would have nothing good to say. The fact that the Iraqi PM was in China and inviting China to rebuild Iraq speak for themselves.

The American and western media and American step children all over the world can sing all the songs they want about bad China and good America. The fact, the Arab countries are suffering and paying for the crimes of the Americans. And China is there to help to rebuild their countries at competitive Chinese prices.