5/11/2017

Cheng Bock is likely to lose

Cheng Bock has posted the high court's acceptance of his application to challenge the govt's formula to count Wee Kim Wee as the first Elected President. This is part of his message:
 
COURT APPLICATION ACCEPTED
I would like to announce that this morning, the High Court accepted my application (HC/OS 495/2017), which seeks the Court’s determination on whether a piece of legislation (section 22 Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act 6 of 2017 which counted President Wee Kim Wee as the first Elected Presidency term for the purposes of calling a Reserved Election), is consistent with our Constitution (Articles 19B(1) and 164(1) which introduced the mechanism of a Reserved Election into our Constitution).
I am the Plaintiff and for the purposes of serving Court papers on the Government, the Defendant is the Attorney General.
The application was filed on 5 May 2017. The Court accepted my application this morning, and has fixed a pre-trial conference on 22 May 2017....

Though the acceptance gives some hope that the issue would be addressed legally by the top legal minds and also comes under the scrutiny of the whole world, I have very little confidence that Cheng Bock would win this case. Somehow the case of the ruling that election candidate cannot be within 200m radius of a voting station but being inside is not considered within 200m keeps popping up in my mind. Such ingenious interpretation of law is very exceptional and only very exceptional legal talents could explain this logically and legally correct in the courts of law.

Until today, the common folks are still shaking their heads as they simply are too daft to understand the brilliant logic of such an explanation. The smart ones have already given up trying to understand.

It is no coincidence that this would be another CB Elected Presidential election, CB is Cheng Bock's initial of course. CB can also mean cha bor. So whatever way it is gonna be a CB election. I am putting my ears on the ground and eagerly waiting for another fabulous and mind blowing interpretation of the law by Singapore's top legal talents on this case that would outdo the 200m ruling for its ingenuity and brilliance.

5/10/2017

Conversation with a Chinese national

I was having my lunch in a kopitiam when this Chinese national came calling me uncle and asking for permission to share the table. I did not push him away, scold him or nudge him from behind. I said ok and we had a little conversation. I did most of the listening as there was so much to learn from someone who was willing to share.
 

He said Xi Jinping has stopped all educational trips of Chinese officials coming to Singapore to learn the Singapore way. China had learnt a lot in the early days and now found that the current Singapore way is not what China needs or wants.
 

He spoke on many issues but most important of which is how China treats its oldies. China also has their version of CPF system whereby an employee would contribute 2% of his income and the employer 19%. Then the province, county and town or village would contribute the balance 79% to the fund. And at age 60, the oldies would be paid an allowance for life. He mentioned something like 4,000 rmb, not sure it was a month or a year. He added that the oldies are the happiest people in China, and the richest, that is why they are indulging in all kinds of leisure pastimes and travelling. And their children love them as they are not burdens to them, when the state is looking after them.
 

The oldies need not worry about pawning their homes to keep themselves alive. It is the duty of the state to look after them. The longer they live the more they enjoy the state pension. How’s that compare to our CPF, used to be a model formula for others to emulate but now turning foul. Got money but cannot touch, your own money but now some said not your money.
 

And how’s that compare to our oldies having to collect cardboard and pushing trolleys, or spending time in kopitiams to clean tables and wash plates to past their times? Some said to exercise while the Chinese oldies are doing line dancing in the parks?
 

This guy came from Xian in 2003 and was earning about $3k to $4k as a lorry driver. Now he said things are not so good and he is getting slightly more than $2k. Oh, he said in Xian, public transport is 1rmb per trip regardless of how long is the journey. How’s that? And they need not kpkb every now and them to raise fare to improve quality of service.
 

This is China practicing its socialist ideas, that the country or govt’s primary duty is to take care of the people’s welfare and well being. As China gets richer, more will be distributed to the people for them to live better and to live well. Not to be distributed to their leaders to make them millionaires. Xi Jinping said, if you want to get rich, don't join politics.
 

The happy Singaporeans would say Singapore is better. Singaporean oldies have pride and love to work until they die, to be independent and can exercise some more. And happy Singaporeans would continue to vote for their efficient and caring govt to look after them the way the govt knows best, especially their CPF savings, always there even after they died. For the money can only could not be used except for compulsory schemes. Singaporeans would not want the way China is looking after their oldies and their lifelong savings.
 

Tiok boh?

The Days After Death


May Day 2017.  The night before, Father passed on from this life. Death consumed him quietly after a full dinner as he rested; shutting down his lungs, his breathing ceased and finally his heart stopped. At a full life of 90-years old, Father was ready; and has been ready for quite a while since Mother succumbed to her stroke which paralysed her for over a year some 17 years ago.  Their blissful life was survived by 6 children, 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren! What a blessed life indeed!      

Death is personal and customised for each one of us.  It accompanies us like a personal shadow, growing as we grow, and at time looming larger or taller depending on the role it chooses as our alternate self. Death’s only story is the story of our life. It has no separate meaning other than whatever we have made with our life.  We are death’s only friend; that’s why it is often confusing as we hear its voice beckoned so welcoming when our time cometh as we then struggle to prolong our earthly time by grasping at the straw of a diminishing life.         

The fear of death is quite exaggerated, and unfounded, when to die is actually perfectly normal.  All natural living things die.  It is such an important part of the natural process.  Death is many things to different people who prefer not to talk or think about it.  Like it or not, though most of us do not like it, it is more like we do not like its often uncertain timing.  If only we can choose when to die, wouldn’t that be great! 

The main problem is that most people are not ready to die. Yet, most would live their life as if death would not occur.  We know life is short, and yet we rush through it without spending quality time to appreciate the beauty of nature or create meaningful moments with our loved ones.  Many eat the wrong diets that shorten our short life-span; others repeatedly poison their bodies with tobacco and nicotine; or regularly drown their stomach, livers and kidneys in alcoholic beverages; and millions others are addicted to consume strange chemicals in the forms of vitamin-substitutes, health “supplements” and man-made medicines. Ironically, death probably never works harder to prevent the onset of massive and pandemic premature human deaths that should otherwise occur as a natural consequence of mankind suicidal life-styles!                

Death is also romanticised by a spiritual interpretation.  Many man-made religions teach death as the separation of the imagined human “soul” from the physical body, and which goes on living somewhere forever … to “heaven” if one has been “good”, to “hell” if he/she has been “bad” or to a “holding” location to be determined by some “gods” or divine beings.  Some religious beliefs would “recycle” the dead back to this world to provide another opportunity for them to live a “better” life … why not send them back to a better version of this world, I wonder?!  Who indeed would want to come back to this wretched broken world again …!       

There is no evidence that the probabilistic existence of “heaven” and “hell”, or “recycling” for a better life, has any effect on criminal behavior or better civic treatment of fellow human beings or more socially responsible behavior in the community.  My take is that everyone knew that no one is really “good” enough to go to heaven … everyone irrespective of our jobs or station in life is guilty of insufficient “good” deeds to qualify for that hallowed “heaven” place.  We are all condemned by the good that we failed to do! That would leave “hell” as the common final destination for the human souls; this is really comforting since many friends, buddies, and enemies, would therefore be re-united after death.      

The notion of the “afterlife” is a denial of death being the end of life.  People are just not ready to leave their loved ones, or to stop enjoying their daily golf games or to cease having their party fun. Others are really happy growing their businesses, increasing personal wealth and prosperity way beyond their need to fuel a greater sense of security and enhance their happiness assets.  To many, the “afterlife” is necessary in order to be truly human. For them, life is a path that must lead somewhere, anywhere … as long as it does not just end!....

This is a truncated version. For the full version click mikospace above.

5/09/2017

Cheng Bok takes the govt to court

Tan Cheng Bock finally filed his case to the court for a legal interpretation on the Elected President yesterday. His main point is to seek a court ruling on how the counting of President Wee Kim Wee as the first elected president is deemed legal and proper to justify an EP election this year.

We will now have to wait to hear what the court has to say and whether the ruling is constitutional. The AG's office would have to explain come they come about with their recommendation to the PM.

This is probably the first constitutional challenge in this island since independence.

South China Sea – Return of peace and calm when the devil is away

The Americans have stopped their agitation in the SC Sea and moving north to the Korean Peninsula to raise tension there. With their departure, peace and calm have returned to the region. Now who is the trouble maker that caused all the tension in the SC Sea and now causing tension in the Korean Peninsula? It does not need any thinking to know the answer. But some fools would forever be fools and would not be able to see that the devil has left to create trouble in the Northeast Asia.
The American Pacific Command under the Japanese Commander still wanted to stir trouble in the SC Sea and requesting approval from Washington to violate Chinese territorial integrity. Trump has turned them down, or Trump’s team in Washington has said no. Permission not granted. China is now helping Trump to deal with the problem of North Korea and so cannot create trouble for China.
The main theater for war is now in the Korean Peninsula and let there be peace in the SC Sea. But would the sneaky little USAs feel uncomfortable, backside itchy because there is no trouble in the SC Sea and would want to drag the Americans back into the region to create tension all over again? What would the little USAs gain if the region goes up in smokes?
Why would the little USAs want to create trouble in the region when they could have peace and live peacefully with everyone? Anyone wants to invite the trouble maker back into the SC Sea?
China is continuing on its mission to build a new infrastructure for trade with the OBOR project. China is going everywhere to build ports, cities, rails and road and trade. On the other hand the Americans are going everywhere to sign military pacts to conduct military exercises, to threaten regime change. The Americans are conducting military exercises with the Japanese, with the South Koreans, with the Philippines, with Jordan, with India, with Nato countries, all in the name of peace and is regarded by many fools as a peace loving country. China is all about trade, about economic development, about building infrastructure, about building international banks, but many fools chose to call these as hostile acts with aggressive intents. How long would the fools wake up from their stupidity?  Oops, stupidity cannot be cured.