Singapore running out of luck

For several decades, nothing could go wrong in Singapore. And if anything went wrong, they would be put right immediately. The last outbreak of contagious disease was SARS and was quickly wrapped up and put away. We had many other problems but did not become too big a task to solve.

What is happening today? We have endless breakdowns on the public transport system after paying so many years of fare hikes for better services but with things getting worse by the days. We have outbreak of TBs, Hepatitis C, and now this Zika thing. How dreadful are the lives of pregnant mothers infected by the Zika sickness is beyond your imagination. Day and night, every moment, the mother and father would be thinking of their little unborn baby’s health. Would the baby be alright or born with brain damage? The latter is the fearful tragedy that could likely be their fate. What about little children infected with TB in kindergartens? If only you are the parents of the affected child.

Why were we so successful then and not now? Was it because we have had better people and better systems then and now no talent but highly paid people today with lousy systems? Very likely it is more like luck running out. For we are having the best talents from the world, oops, to be correct from the third world, to replace our own talents, and this is the result. This is one of the facts that we are living with but still needs empirical proof to connect the two.

If not this, then, assuming the people are still as talented and the systems have been improved, why then are we getting all the outbreaks? Luck running out! When luck runs out, the best system will still be found wanting. When luck runs out, poorly devised systems, half baked systems, tidak apa attitude, etc will stand out glaringly.

When luck runs out, all the wrong things will happen at the same time to wreck the system and the lives of the people here. How many more bad things are going to happen before the whole system implodes? 4 days of train faults and fuming commuters, and more and more Zika cases being detected and more mothers to be infected, and more coming along the way. When you have a few cases of infection, contact tracing is quite easy. When you have hundreds and thousands, you can forget about contact tracing.  Watch out for this Zika to develop into a full blown epidemic and woe beholds this little Red Dot. Complacency?

Return of the Sultans, bye bye Mahathir

Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar has taken a shot at Mahathir for interfering into the affairs of Johore with his typical Mahathir accusation that Johore is splitting the unity of Malaysia while he, Mahathir, is the uniting force for Malaysia. The Sultan has rightly pointed out that the problems of Malaysia, the racial politics and racial divide and the deep seated racial hatred have their origins from Mahathir. Under Mahathir’s rule, it was all about race politics in the name of unity.

Mahathir even attacked the phrase ‘Bangsa Johor’ as divisive, …’promoting affinity to individual states over the country will divide Malaysians’.  The Sultan told Mahathir to shut up and rightly pointed out that the seed of division and racial politics was planted and nurtured by Mahathir. ‘Bangsa Johor’ was a foresighted concept originated by the late Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al Masyhur Abu Bakar in 1920, a call to unite all the races under one flag.

The sins of Mahathir have not been spoken and are now surfacing. The Sultans are standing up to defend themselves and their rights as heads of their respective states and rulers of Malaysia. Mahathir better shut up or would not only be told to shut up but could end up in very compromising and uncomfortable position as his fame and stature fade away. He must know that time has changed to his detriment and it is for his own good to disappear quietly to enjoy his retirement in his twilight years.  If he insists to take on the royalties and the UMNO that he used to rule, he may be in for a rude awakening.

More LKY legacies falling

I wrote about the meritocracy legacy of LKY at the verge of being dumped by including race as a key factor in the election of the EP. Under the present criteria, though very, actually extremely elitist, it still has the hallmark of LKY in it, ie meritocracy. The EP will be chosen on merit and elected by the people. No tokenism. The likely proposed changes to the criteria to include race as a key element soundly denounced the ideal of meritocracy, that does not need to be elected base on merit but on race. Several minority bloggers have spoken up against this compromising change that would not look good when a minority candidate is elected under a different and unmeritocratic rule. They expressed their objections to such a patronising move. How strong is this view from the minorities against or in support of the changes has yet to be determined but it sure irks the minority elites as was seen in a CNA programme.

 

What is certain is that this meritocracy legacy of LKY will be the first to fall and not the last. In last week's ST there was an article by Kor Kian Beng on how Singapore walked the tight rope in a balancing act between the two super powers, China and the USA. In the article he quoted LKY saying that Singapore must not choose between the two super powers. Singapore should be neutral in their conflict. And Singapore might host Chinese military facilities as well after offering such facilities to the Americans. That was another hallmark and legacy of LKY. A wisdom only fools should disregard.

 

Vivian Balakrishnan and Chan Chun Sing have both been quoted that Singapore's position between the two powers was and is neutral, Singapore does not take sides. This was the position of Singapore in the past. Has this been changed recently over the South China Sea dispute?

 

Hsien Loong took pains to explain Singapore's position at the National Day Rally not for no reasons. China is fuming and has lodged protests to the govt on Singapore's pro American stand, read as anti China, after several govt officials made statements that were obviously unfriendly to China. Singapore's role within Asean on this issue, the favourable comments on The Hague ruling, freedom of navigation, etc etc mirrored the American positions to the chagrin of China. And the Americans are using military facilities in Singapore to conduct provocative manoeuvres in the South China that further put to question about Singapore's neutral position between the two super powers.

 

The big question, is Singapore really neutral or has Singapore taken side with the Americans, abandoning its policy of neutrality? It is not just what the Singapore govt and its officials were saying but what Singapore has been doing in recent times that would be judged. And only China and the USA know and matters whether Singapore has taken sides.

 

If Singapore has taken side, then another legacy of LKY is going down the drain. The next question to ask, are these legacies obsolete, outlived their usefulness, or they were wrong in the first place and have to be dumped, LKY legacies or whatever? How many more of LKY's legacies or wisdom would be ignored, challenged and buried away? How many people have the audacity to think they are wiser than LKY and dare to show disrespect to his legacies, to put them away, barely one year after his demise?

 

Was there a call to protect and preserve his legacies?

 

PS. I understand there are people that would pui when LKY’s name is mentioned. Let’s be objective about this. Not all his legacies are bad and some are critical to the continued existence and well being of this little Red Dot. Abandoning the good stuff indiscriminately would be an unforgiveable sin, an injustice to the future of Singapore and the millenials.

Haze -Singapore should take Indonesia to The Hague

The haze problem is visiting Singapore and neighbouring countries again and Indonesia’s attitude is that it has done its best and blamed it on the wind. So how Singapore, are you going to live with the haze and blame it on the wind? What else can you do to protect your people and economy from the ill effects of the wind that came with the haze?

I think Singapore is very far sighted in supporting the Philippines case against China in the South China Sea dispute. Singapore must have the prescient for this moment to use the same formula to deal with the Indonesians. The precedent has been set, the Hague is UN backed and is legal and binding. Just repeat the same formula, hired the same Japanese guy, Shunji Yanai, to appoint the same team of judges, and pay them the same way as the Philippines did, or was it the Japanese that foot the bills, and file a case against the Indonesians on this haze invasion. And yes, this one got no issues with the territorial rights and thus is definitely legal and the court will definitely have jurisdiction to hear the case.

And it would even be better if Indonesia takes the same stand as China in the South China Sea dispute by not participating. Then the court and its judges can rule in Singapore’s favour.  So simple. Then Singapore can get all the friendly media and countries to tell the Indonesians to abide by the rulings, to respect international laws.  The US and western countries would definitely call the Indonesians to respect the international tribunal’s ruling. Philippines would also be shouting the same thing and so would all the Asean countries, rule of law, respect international law.

Like that Singapore sure win the case and can keep hammering the Indonesians for not respecting international law and that The Hague is UN backed.

I support this brilliant strategy. Now I understand why Singapore is so adamant in supporting The Hague rulings against China. Good reason to take such a stand. It is all about rule of law and respecting international law, not about vested interest. Never mind if the court is fixed up like a kangaroo court and the decisions made were just like what a kangaroo court would do.  As long as we believe it is legal, good enough. It is worth paying for the services of such a court and judges to guarantee sure win decision.

How, when is Singapore going to take Indonesia to The Hague? No need to stare them straight in the eyes, so unfriendly. Use the law, Sue. This is an expertise of Singapore, Sue until the Indonesians go bankrupt. Use the law, no need to behave like gangsters and hooligans.

Fare hikes if you want to have better services

How many times Singaporeans have been told of this mantra, ‘You want better service, be prepared to pay more’. If this is true, I think Singaporeans would not be complaining and would be most willing to pay more. The truth, the facts, over the years we have so many fare hikes, and so many times we were told that the hikes would lead to better services, but what were the truth? Were the services better or worse?

How many think the services of public transport have improved? And if this is the truth, our transport services would be the best in the world after so many years of fare hikes.  The truth is just the opposite. All the fare hikes led to lower quality of services. Tiok boh?

And if fare hikes led to poorer services, should not the mantra be, ‘More fare hikes for poorer services’? You want poorer services, be prepared to pay more.

Now, am I talking sense or nonsense?

What do you think?

PS. Train faults and breakdowns are the new normal. The problems are unlike building HDB flats, like taps, switch it off, then switch it on. You can’t switch off train faults/problems and then switch it on again. It is not that easy. The faults/problems, if serious, would not go away by simply wishing they would go away. You need real talents to solve them, not anyone can do it.

The faults and problems would not go away just because the fares are hiked. If only they are so simple, hike fares and services would improve.