One trick pony and unthinking ponies

In the 1970s, many Asean countries were manufacturing bases for western manufacturers making shoes, apparels, gadgets, PCBs, computers etc etc. In the 70s, China was still as poor as a church mouse, no industries, no foreign manufacturers in China. In the 80s, China started to open its doors to foreign manufacturers.
 
Today, China is the factory of the world, leapfrogging itself out of the Asean league and into making new products and improving on them. The Asean countries are still doing the same thing, some still making shoes, apparels and little gadgets.
 
What is the difference? Why is China running ahead and away, becoming a manufacturing powerhouse while the Asean countries that were ahead in the 1970s have lagged behind and still doing the same little things all over and over again?
 
The answer, many of the factories in Asean are very happy with the orders to make more shoes, more shirts or more of the same thing, to fill up the orders. They are contented just to be a supplier, to make and deliver products ordered. China and South Korea did something more. They copied the same successful formula of Japan, reverse engineering, to improve on the products and to make them at cheaper cost. They were able to add value to the products by lowering cost and improving productivity and quality.
 
The Asean states just continued to make shoes and products designed by he original manufacturers, nothing more, nothing less. No need to think of improving quality and productivity, no need to innovate or wanting to develop or build new products. Just be subcontractors, not OEMs or ODMs.
So, while China moves on to the next level, the Asean little factories remain stagnant, remain where they were 50 years ago, doing the same old things, making the same old products from the same production lines.
 
This is the difference and why China turns itself from a poor agrarian economy into a huge manufacturing base for the world and the Asean countries are still where they are, like before, unchanging. They are not only one trick ponies but unthinking ponies, unable to innovate and move to a higher level of manufacturing. Bring in the big MNCs and do as told, good enough, just provide the cheap labour and earn wages.
 
Japan is also losing out thought they were constantly innovating, losing out on cost. What the Japanese can do, the South Koreans and Chinese can do just as well and better and cheaper. Period. There is on competition. Asean countries are even worst, lagging further and further behind and unable to catch up with the change.


PS. Some Asean countries are still thinking that China is a backward country and wanting to teach China how to do business and how to move up the economic and technology ladder.

And Happy 2017 to everyone.

Relearning the Basics of Democracy By MIKOspace

Poignant Lessons from US General Elections 2016

Democracy is a slippery political concept. Many definitions abound, but none particularly helpful in furthering understanding. Many advocates of democracy attempt to define democracy in real life; dressing it up with civil liberties, popular elections, free press, free speech, right to bear arms … etc.  In post-2016 general elections, it seems natural that Americans have difficulty grasping the nature of its model of democracy.       Democracy empowers Governments to promote the welfare and well-being of its people, and not the development of its own political concepts.  Functional democratic processes can facilitate positive and progressive national development. Otherwise, democracy would face irrelevance, or change and even oblivion.

Read Full Article here

Myth of The Popular Vote in US Democracy

During the US General Elections, the States holds concurrent democratic elections on the 8 November every 4 years to choose their preferred Presidential Candidates by assigning “Electors” to represent the State in accordance with its population size at the Electoral College who convenes on the following 19 December to “elect” the winning Presidential candidate officially.

In 2016, the Electoral College, represented by all the 50 States, elected Donald Trump by a margin of 306-242 to be the 45^th US President for 2017-2020. President-Elect Donald trump is also the most popular Republican President to ever receive 62.4 million votes.

The overall popular vote does not matter in the election of the US President. The overall popular vote is immaterial and irrelevant in the US, unlike countries like Mexico, Austria, Australia, Germany, France, East Timor and several others.

The US electoral landscape consists of 50 States and 3,112 Counties (or Constituencies). On 8 November 2016, Donald Trump won 2,622 Counties (84%) to Hillary’s 490, and won 30 States (60%) compared to her 20, garnering an average of 56% votes in those 30 States to 53.5% by Hillary in her 20 States.

The State of California voted massively for Hillary by over 4.3 million votes is effectively responsible for all of Hillary’s 2.8 million popular votes over Trump.  Without the moderation by the Electoral College, that one State alone, California, would have over-whelmed the entire national vote and disenfranchised all other non-Californian American voters. When Californian votes are excluded, Trump’s 58,474,401 popular votes exceed Hillary’s by 1.4 million.

Clearly, in the context of American politics in 2016, the Electoral College provides the US Presidential Elections with a more democratic outcome in determining the more “popular” President, where using the national popular vote would have failed to properly articulate the democratic aspirations of 128 million US electorate for a President Donald Trump....

Michael HENG

Singapore bought Australian land for military training

I read this in the statestimesreview. ‘Singapore is paying S$2.34 billion to Australia to rent over 200,000 hectares – the size of 4 Singapore land mass – in Townsville North Queensland for 25 years to test long-range missiles. The lucrative deal signed in October is however blocked by local farmers who refuse to sell their land.’

I must say this is any time a better decision than buying 12 F35s for about the same amount of money, 200,000 hectares or 4 times the size of Singapore or about 1 cent per sq ft.  How would anyone think of spending $2.34 billion for 12 toys that could go kaput anytime and could be stored in a hangar half the size of a football field?

Singapore should negotiate for longer tenure, maybe 99 years, then we can have a small population of soldier boys and their families living in Australia to relieve the lost of land that would be built to house more foreigners.  But our crazy policy of wasting land to sell to more foreigners, we have depleted whatever land for military use, to house our soldiers and military hardware.  We have no room for our boys to defend our country.  By the time they get back home with their hardware the island would have fallen, taken over. How can a country have its soldiers all overseas leaving a token force on home ground? Though the solution of acquiring land in Australia may not be ideal, as least it is a way out until the sickos understand what they are doing to our little island and why building and building more flats to be filled with more foreign bodies is a khong cum thing to do.

This temporary solution buys us 25 years of time and not to be held hostage or at ransom should countries hosting our facilities decided to up the rentals/usage of their land annually. And hope also there is no threats of war during this period. But 25 years is a flash in the pan and the problem arises again, just like our water agreements with Malaysia. When the landlord decides to up the fees or to kick our soldier boys out, then what, just like when we hit 6.9m or 10m, then what?

The solution must be more permanent and sustainable. Reclaiming land to bring in more bodies is like filling water in a pail full of holes and will lead to very serious problems in the long run, with more heads, more consumption but producing nothing, limited land, resources, water, energy, how could this be allowed to go on and on? It is a foolish formula, a game that fools will play and think they could get a way with it. But the fools need not have to answer for it as they would be long dead when the roof starts falling down.

Know the limitations of our land and resources and work within these limits is the only way to go.

US plot to oust Duterte - Regime change in the Philippines

John Kerry told the Philippines that the Americans respect their sovereignty and the democratic choice of the people of Philippines in selecting their leaders. Now the Philippines have exposed a plot to overthrow their President Duterte by the US and quoting a former American Ambassador Philip Goldberg to be behind it with documents as proof. The Americans are denying this allegation.

Who do you think is telling the truth, the Americans or the Filipinos? Do the Americans have any reason to want to throw out Duterte? Do the Americans have records of doing such darn things? Who is infamous for regime change?

This is what the Filipinos are saying and I quote from an Agencies’ article appearing in the Today paper on 29 Dec 16, ‘In the alleged plan, Mr Goldberg had noted that deposing Mr Duterte would be a challenge for the opposition. He encouraged support for the opposition through aids and grants, and to sow discontent among Duterte’s supporters….called for stoking public dissatisfaction with Mr Duterte over unfulfilled election promises, isolating the Philippines from the rest of the Association of South east Asian Nations (Asean) by extending military assistance to member countries except the Philippines, and/or through economic “blackmail” that aims to limit trade by some Asean member countries with the Philippines.’

With so much detail, are the Filipinos fabricating false information? You be the judge.  The info also revealed that the Americans are in control of Asean and could turn Asean against the Philippines, or at least some Asean states against the Philippines. So there you go, the friendliest and all goodness Evil Empire is doing what it knows best, regime change, interfering in the domestic affairs of small countries. Hope the terminating of Duterte is not in their cards.

Duterte, be very careful with the white angels around you. Little brown brothers are easily manipulated to serve the interests of the Evil Empire. With such good friend, the Philippines and Asean member states do not need enemies anymore.

Terrex Incident – What a lonely feeling

When Aquino was provoking China with his kangaroo court rulings on the SCS island claims, Singapore was quite vocal about Asean unity, that Asean should stand together as a grouping and take a common stand. Singapore’s policy is for a united Asean to face external threats and issues. Singapore’s support for Aquino’s claim on Chinese islands need no further elaboration. Several Asean countries too were behind the Aquino govt, including Vietnam and Malaysia, both claimant countries. Japan and the USA and the western countries too were parroting that the kangaroo court rulings were legal and binding. These supports gave the Aquino govt a false sense of victory, that the western world was behind the Filipino claims. There was strength in numbers. At least Aquino did not feel alone.

Singapore is now having a little problem with China, a good friend according to Vivian Balakrishnan who said he could sleep well over the Terrex Incident.  More than a month has passed and the armoured personnel carriers are still in Hong Kong with no further news. The Hong Kong/China side was silent and no one knows how long this matter would drag.

What is surprising is that no country, or at least that was what I have read in the media, has come out in support of the Singapore govt, to give encouragement and moral support to Singapore, a show or unity and solidarity. No Asean state has spoken out on the issue in favour of Singapore or to put pressure on China. Where is the Asean unity and solidarity? Anyone thinking he is the leader of Asean and mustering the Asean states to go against China? Should not one or two Asean countries be calling for Asean countries to unite behind Singapore? There was or were leaders herding the Asean states against China in the SCS claims and the kangaroo court rulings. Where have they gone to? Maybe the Terrex Incident is a different issue that does not need Asean unity or Asean to front out for Singapore, to speak for Singapore, to put pressure on China.

What about the USA and Japan, staunch allies and friends of Singapore? Did they say anything and give some moral encouragement? Are the Americans and Japanese going to sail their navies into Hong Kong as a show of force? Did any of these big powers make presentation to China to help out Singapore?

Somehow I got this lonely feeling that Singapore is in this all alone. Where are Singapore’s friends? Where are the western media that thought it was their responsibility to lambast China on the SCS island dispute and daily blasted at China on the side of the Aquino govt? The western media have been exceptionally quiet about the Terrex Incident. It is all Singapore’s problem. Or all of them think Singapore can handle this alone. Maybe they believe Singapore govt can punch above its weight and Hong Kong/China would soon return the armoured personnel carriers without undue delay, without the need for them to blow their trumpets?

Is Singapore being left on the lurch, alone, to deal with the problem? Have they abandoned Singapore? What a lonely feeling. A friend in need is a friend indeed. This is a time when Singapore needs all its friends to stand up or to speak up, and the voices of the western media to blow up the issue.

Are you lonesome tonight? Oh, what a lonely feeling.