8/01/2016

AGO versus AHPETC

Recently the pages of the main media have been filled with reports from the AGO’s office and PriceWaterhouse about the lapses in the civil service and AHPETC. I think both are great readings for those who are wondering what is happening to this exceptional island. I must confess that other than the headlines, I did not bother to read more than one paragraph of the reports. I know what they are and where they are coming. I know the agenda and motives, oops, shouldn’t use such politically incorrect words. Let me rephrase, I know the content and objectives of these reports.
 
My question, which of the revelations is more important, the AGO’s or the KPMG's report? My impression, judging from what I saw and read, with Shanmugam appearing in the media and on TV, he is looking every inch iike the oracle, in style and delivery, the one that is more important is the AHPETC. Why so? Because no other minister, not even Shanmugam, appeared to be furious about the findings of the AGO reports. Some ministers even tried to explain that these were nothing to have sleepless night over them. They are just normal, it happened everywhere, in every country, just like the outages of SGX. Nothing to worry about really.
 
What about the AHPETC, is it also normal, happened everyhere? Administrative lapses, mismanagement, failure to do the due diligence, lackadaisical attitude, these are common in big organisations, cannot be avoided. Luckily we have stringent control mechanism in place and the scourge of corruption is not there. Here is the big difference. Nowhere in the whole world would you find an elected MP being made to run a town council, to be responsible to run a town council just to prove that they are suitable to run a govt.  Not sure if Hillary or Donald Trump have had this experience to be the President of the USA. So, one cannot say that it happened everywhere and is normal. It only happened in Singapore in AHPETC, so it cannot be normal. And since it is not normal, it must be serious.
 
Please feel free to disagree with me. I think my age is getting into me and my standard of good and efficient management has changed over time.  Ageing process? Maybe it is the air, the haze, or the Newater I have been drinking, too much shit in the head and affecting my vision and thinking.

7/31/2016

The Domino Theory – A different narrative




Donald Trump’s campaign war cry is to make America great again. This statement is an acknowledgement and admission that America is no longer the great America of yesterday. America’s status and reputation as the great or greatest nation on earth has taken a severe beating and is now only a shadow of its past. It is now a big quest to want to make America great again.

The peak of American power was at the end of WW2 when it triumphed over Germany/Italy and the Japanese Axis powers. America was the undisputed world Number One superpower. The Soviet Union was a close second while the rest of the European powers were as good as bankrupt after the war. There was world peace but not for long. America must have an enemy and Communism led by Russia, its war ally, became enemy Number One.  The war allies soon broke apart with The USSR leading the communist camp and the victory of communist in China. China was the next big communist country, followed by Vietnam and North Korea.

Vietnam was a missed opportunity screwed up by western treachery. Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist though embracing communism. He led his Viet Minh in his fight for independence for Vietnam. But he was played out by the western allies. The Allies took control of Vietnam from the Japanese and duly released the French locked up in the prison by the Japanese to continue its colonial rule of Indochina with Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh left out in the cold.  Ho Chi Minh turned to the USSR and the Vietcong was formed to fight the French and subsequently the Americans. Vietnam was divided with the communist in the north just like in the Korean Peninsula.

The Americans fought its first war against the communist in Korea, driving the North Koreans who had almost conquered the whole of Korea, from Pusan back to the Yalu River. The Americans had de facto control of the whole of Korean. The supremacy of the American forces was unmatched until the Chinese sent in their peasant volunteered armies to drive the Americans back to the 38 parallel, and to a military stalemate. This was a rude shock to the American war machine, but they nonetheless claimed victory over the North Koreans. Half a victory was still as good as none.

The Korean War tested the American supremacy but did not damage its Number One superpower status. The North Korea was another country that had gone communist and thus creating the feared Domino Theory that dominated American policies in Asia for more than half a century in the era of Cold War. The USA did all it could to contain the spread of communism in Asia and fought the Vietnam War till it was defeated in 1975.

The defeat of the Americans in Vietnam threw SE Asia in disarray. It was panic station in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. The Vietnamese had marched into Laos and Cambodia and were at the Thai border. No one had the army to take on the battle hardened and war tested Vietnamese Army. Two more dominoes fell in Laos and Cambodia with Thailand at the brink of falling into Vietnamese hands.

The calls for help from the Americans fell on deaf ears. The Americans had no more appetite to fight a ground war in Asia. They were wallowing in self pity. The Number One superpower was no longer like what it was before.  Vietnam was the watershed that saw the waning fortune of the American Empire.

The Domino Theory was becoming a reality and the Americans were not there to stop the falls any more. Asean countries were desperate and in fear and needed help and turned to arch enemy in communist China to stop Vietnam, and to prevent the Domino Theory from becoming a stark reality.
China obliged, told the Vietnamese to pull out of Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam refused, Deng Xiao Ping sent in his PLA, bashed into North Vietnam and taught the Vietnamese a bitter lesson, not to mess around with China. China was no USA. The Vietnamese subsequently pulled out from Laos and Cambodia and Thailand and Asean was safe. Yes, China was the knight in shining armour that defeated the Vietnamese and saved Thailand and Asean, not the USA.

The West and their pride could not take this insult. How could China defeat the Vietnamese when the latter defeated the world Number One super power? So they went on a rage publishing articles that China was given a lesson by the Vietnamese. If their story was true, the Domino Theory would have realized to its fullest and Thailand and Asean would have been under communist regimes today. But many fools are still sticking to the story that Vietnam taught China a lesson and Asean was saved from communism, from the mighty Vietnamese Army by the Americans, that ran away and making a comeback today in its pivot to Asia and trying to make love with Vietnam to compensate for destroying that country. And some ungrateful Asean countries have forgotten who saved them from the jaws of the Vietnamese Army, to become fallen dominoes.

The Americans’attempt to defeat communism, to stop the Domino Theory from becoming a reality ended in 1975 when they were driven out of Vietnam.  It was left to China to do the necessary The rest is history. I walked through the history books of those days.

Now that the ungrateful Asean countries have turned against China, it would be interesting to know what would be their fate if China had not answered their plea for help but instead backed Vietnam’s expansion into Laos and Cambodia and make the Domino Theory a reality? Would Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore be communist states today and be part of the communist camp? Who bought time and security to these 3 states after the Americans fled Southeast Asia? Who was there to stand up to the Vietnamese when there was no Americans around?

7/30/2016

AGO’s report on lapse in recovering university loans


The two universities, NUS and NTU granted several million dollars of loans to mainly Singapore students whose parents could not afford to pay for the cheap tuition fees that are already highly subsidized. In the AGO’s report where it did some sample tests, it discovered that the recovery of student loans in 23%  of the cases were delayed by 3.5 years, ie student unable, could not or somehow did not repay the loans in time.  MOE has responded that it is working hard to recover the loans but in some hardship cases it has to delay or reduce the repayment sum.

What does it mean, young university graduates in hard times and unable to service their student loans? Were they not gainfully employed after graduation? Is there a problem that young university graduates are facing financial hardship and unable to repay their loans in time?

There was a time when getting into university was something that called for great joy and celebration, on the path to riches. And on graduation, crossing the last hurdle, life was supposed to be good. Today, on graduation is the time to face disappointments in getting a job, don’t bother about getting a good job. Some were unable to get jobs over a year, some graduates ended up working as temp workers! There is nothing to celebrate about on graduation.

Some thought they got to do better, went on to get a masters degree only to be more disappointed after wasting the money and time, unable to find a decent job. What is going on?

Nevermind, this is the new life of a graduate. What is more disheartening, actually I thought it was a good thing that students were helped by the universities with study loans. On second thought they would be better off if they were foreigners, being helped in a big way by the same govt, with free scholarships, no need to pay back, no need to worry about loans in arrears or rescheduling loans. How lucky are these foreign undergraduates. And how unlucky are our own undergraduates. Should not they wish that they were not citizens of this country?

By the way, how many billions were thrown to the foreign students in scholarships? Why no one think this money should be given to our own children? Why no one think this should be raised in Parliament, that out taxpayers’ money must be given to the taxpayers’ children, not to children of people that we have nothing to do about, who did not pay any taxes to us? Why are chasing after loans that the students cannot afford to repay while foreigners had a free ride with free scholarships?
Stupidity has no cure. Or is it more than stupidity?

7/29/2016

Patrick Tay – the only voice to the PMET’s plight

Is there really a problem that Singaporean PMETs are running out of jobs and hitting the wall? It is no joke in this most expensive city in the world to be unemployed and at a critical age when the financial burden of bringing up children and housing loan are at their peaks. And after this stage, the twilight years are not going to be a bed or roses when the children could not get a good job even with a degree and savings for old age are not enough.

How many of the elected leaders are listening and seeing the problems faced by the PMETs who voted them to power and would want to look after their interests? Don’t seem to hear much from the political leaders about this, maybe they have more important things to do than to worry about the PMETs becoming unemployed or under employed.

For those who took notice, the recommendations are hardly of any help and often very demeaning and undignified. The funny training courses that the PMETs have to put up with are quite insulting and a big waste of the talent and experienced that the PMETs have acquired for a whole life. The rubbish brought into the country to replace the PMETs are anything but rubbish and glossed over as valuable talents.

The lone voice calling for something to be done for the Singaporean PMETs came from Patrick Tay, supposedly responsible for workers welfare, not PMETs, but understood how serious the problem has become. Many of these PMETs have another 20 or 30 years to get by.

So what’s up Patrick? Short of ideas other then training and retraining? One simple suggestion, go to Parliament and tell them to stop the ministries and stats boards from employing foreigners for the interim years and get them to hire the PMETs. And foreigners mean PRs as well. Get the problem of unemployed Singaporeans solved first, and this include young graduates, before relaxing to hire foreigners. Is this so difficult to do?

Another thing, get the MOM to freeze issuing EP and SP passes until things get better for the PMETs and young local graduates.

Is the welfare and interest of Singaporeans going jobless not important enough for the govt to have a new policy to hire Singaporeans first? And watch out on those GLCs that are still hiring foreigners, especially those that hired foreigners to run their HRs.

Patrick should go to Parliament and shout like auntie Bee Wah. What is so difficult? Singapore must be for Singaporeans. Singaporeans must come first. Hire Singaporeans first. MOM, please stop issuing those EP and SP passes so freely like Santa Claus to foreigners.

Who is in charge of MOM?

The best scheme so far that could offer the PMETs a more respectable option after being replaced is the trading courses proposed by IE Singapore this morning. But all the measures are not addressing why PMETs are being discriminated and replaced by foreigners and companies continue to do so with easy access to EPs and SPs issued by MOM. Who is the cock that allows this sad state of affair to continue unabated?

What has Asean become today?

It was created at a time of big power rivalry and Cold War between the Americans/West on one side and the Communist bloc led by the Soviet Union on the other. The wise leaders of Asean knew then that this is not their cup of tea. It is better to stay out when elephants fight, and not get trampled. There was nothing to gain to be on either side. So the created Asean and refused to be roped into the American creature called SEATO. And Abdul Razak came out with the concept of ZOPFAN, Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality.

This concept served Asean well for several decades. Today, Asean is becoming more like the feared SEATO, an American creation to contain China. And some members of Asean are screaming that there are Chinese Trojan Horses in Asean and wanting to boot them out of Asean. Would Asean then be renamed as SEATO, the nightmare the founders of Asean tried so hard to avoid?

Asean is now infiltrated with many little USAs and they are calling the shots. They did not see themselves as little USAs. They did not see that their sugar daddy is the USA while pointing the fingers at the Trojan Horses and accusing them of playing by the dictates of their sugar daddy in China.

This is the height of hypocrisy in Asean today. Oops, should Asean be called SEATO? How many Asean states would want to be in SEATO to be dictated by the American sugar daddy?

The funny thing is that while some of these little USAs are sleeping with their sugar daddy, they are putting up pretences to want to curry favours with their ‘enemy’ sugar daddy and wanting to enjoy the market and economic opportunities China is creating for them. And they think China could not see through their pretences and would continue to let them ride on the Chinese gravy train while shitting on them behind their backs.

How neutral is Asean today? Has Asean changed or is it transforming itself into another American satellite organization? Who are the main drivers working to turn Asean into SEATO? Who is behind the ejecting Cambodia out of Asean agenda?