Singapore China relations – Damage control mode

The last few weeks Singapore leaders have been gloating about the good relations between China and Singapore, going back to the days of LKY and claiming all the credits for Suzhou, Tianjin eco city and telling China that we are old friends, honest and reliable, we have common interests, that our good relations have deep roots and small differences should not derail this relationship.

All the negative reports and articles about China have disappeared to a trinkle, though still one or two appearing to irritate the Chinese. There was no need for such pleadings to remind the Chinese that we used to be good friends if only our diplomacy was based on more sensible approach, knowing our place instead of being khongcum and everyday wanting to punch above our weight, to poke China in the eyes. Oops, no we did not do that, according to Tommy Koh and several other highly talented Singaporean diplomats. Even Vivian has been saying all the nice things about how honest we are in our dealings with China and the South China Sea dispute. No, we never do anything bad or harmful against China. And the Chinese are so stupid, thinking Singapore was anti China!

See, relationship with China is now on even keel, back to normal. Everyone is smiling now. Forget about the Terrex incident or the non invite to OBOR. These are normal things and would soon be blown over.

Let’s see how long we can keep the media and the politicians and diplomat’s mouths shut. Let’s see how long Singapore can restrain itself from wanting to punch above its weight and wanting to poke China in the eyes. In diplomacy, they don’t invent such words called diplomatic for nothing, everything is about being diplomatic and not about punching above one’s weight when there is no need to.

Did Singapore learn anything from the hot headed cocky approach prior to this damage control exercise with China?  George Yeo better tell his former colleagues to know their places and stop being ‘boh tua boh suay’ in the international arena. The rule of the game is different, oops, in a way the same as domestic politics except that the person holding the big stick is not Singapore, so be prepared to be clobbered if one steps out of line

The horse has bolted from the barn, is it a bit too late to close the gate? Oops, more military exercises in the South China Sea, this time anti submarine exercise with India. 

Is this a friendly or unfriendly act against China? Why not anti submarine exercise with China’s navy in the Indian Ocean?

Lim Tean – NSP Secretary General quits in less than 2 years

When Lim Tean came on as NSP’s secretary general, there were many questions asked by those in the known, who was Lim Tean, where was he coming from. The story behind NSP’s changing of Sec Gen is like changing clothing daily and would Lim Tean be different? Many thought, well, another one of those things. I will be more surprised if Lim Tean last longer than 2 years. If he does, I will close my book on him.

After appearing in the last GE, Lim Tean came through as a very promising opposition leader, articulate, confident and spoke sense. He did not come across as another of those things, you know what I mean. Many regarded him as a good catch by NSP or any political party. I see him very likely to be a white swan in a pond of black swans. My question is whether he is just another black swan or a genuine white swan.

Lim Tean’s sin was to speak out on major issues like the EP and the 30% water fee hike, things that respectable politicians should be talking about. Any politician that shunned such topics should join the ruling party, keep their mouths shut and happily collecting the MP allowance of neary $200k per annum.  Lim Tean went one step further, to speak at the Speaker’s Corner on the same sensitive and taboo subjects. Many must be shocked of what Lim Tean did.  I too and knew that his days were numbered if he is a white swan.

Now the white swan has found that black swans are not comfortable with white swans and either he behaves like black swans or leave to find company with other white swans.

Any decent opposition party wants to open their arms to this man Lim Tean? It takes a lot of guts and bravado to welcome someone that has very good leadership potential into their wings. Lim Tean is one of the better politicians thrown out by this stale, staid and barren political landscape.  Who is going to offer him an olive branch and throw him a welcoming party? Any big man out there to take this man of substance to fight another day or thinking that Lim Tean is too good for him and would threaten his own position as leader of a political party?

This is the umpteen times that the people are expecting the alternative political parties to get their act together, put aside personal ego and ambition, to bring together the few good men and women to put up a reasonable team to challenge the ruling party. Or would they continue to muck around thinking that they have all the time in the world to stay as has been minnow political parties that would stage a pretentious fight in every GE only to prove beyond any doubt that they are perpetual losers, meaningless and a waste of the people’s time?

Would the losers acknowledge that they are losers from the start and change tact, to build up a stronger team to make a meaningful fight in the next GE or everything will be as before, a lot of noise but no substance and the electorate increasingly giving up on them?

When war comes home

The blast at Ariana Grande’s Concert, the 22 dead and many wounded, were a grim reminder of how painful and destructive war is to the victims. The victors, those doing the killings, went home smiling and honoured, knighted as heroes for killing other people. The faces of victims, children and woman folks often draw sympathetic emotions from the readers. Yes, the horrors of war must have hurt many innocents, and now 22 dead and 59 wounded and suffering in pains.

The Europeans have been conducting wars of terrors, called conquest, colonization, occupation in other people’s land all over the world, from the Americas to Asia and Africa, for more than 5 centuries. How many innocents and children had they killed and maimed? Must be hundreds of millions! Even the invasion of Iraq, Libya and Syria in recent years, in each of these countries several hundreds of thousands were killed and maimed. Did the heroes of these invading countries, ie USA and UK and Nato countries care a dime about these deaths and incapacitated victims? Surely there were more than 22 babies and mothers and innocents killed by these bastard invaders. No, they went home to celebrate their bombings and killings with their citizens, telling their gruesome war stories like bedtime fairy tales.

The Europeans and Americans have been invading and conquering other countries, starting wars everywhere and everyday like having fun. Now the war is coming home. Little by little, more Americans, British and Europeans are going to feel the pain and horrors of wars at home that their victims felt over more than 5 centuries of European brutality. Would they then understand how the victims of their wars felt, how they suffered, how their lives and countries were ruined?

I don’t think so. When the victims are the Asians and Africans, it is ok. But not when the victims are Americans or Europeans. Their lives are more valuable than the Asians and Africans.

The Americans and Europeans better braced themselves up for war is coming home to roost, maybe just next door down the street. They used to go conquering the world. The world is coming to the US, UK and Europe, to conquer them in their homeland. The tide is changing. With so many former colony people emigrating into Europe and the USA, all victims of colonization and conquest, what could the Americans and Europeans expect from them, serving them tea and breakfast?

   

When the clowns are asleep, jobs got stolen

Click to enlarge and count the number of staff in the picture and ask, are they Singaporeans? Point of clarification - A Kah Fong emailed to inform me that the above picture is Sawhney's office with ESPN in India, not in the Sports Hub. In the TRE article, copied under PS, it was stated that he came to Singapore and joined ESPN. Something not clear here, was he in ESPN in India or in Singapore?

Manu Sawhney became the new Sports Hub CEO in Oct 2015.
 
In an interview about couple of months into the job, he told the media, “As a proud Singaporean, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to play my part in building sports. And using this facility … how do we help put Singapore on the global sporting destination map.”
And now, about 1.5 year later, it was reported yesterday (20 May) that he was forced to take an “extended personal leave” following an anonymous letter of complaint against him.

Since Sawhney’s appointment, many senior management and staff have left Sports Hub, including its legal, marketing, corporate communication and HR heads. The media reported in Aug last year that the staff at Sports Hub were having “low morale” caused by the lack of communication, and actions by the company’s leadership….
“Since then, there has been very little communication by the leadership. There have been a lot of closed-door decisions, and we have not heard from the CEO regarding his vision and direction for the Sports Hub since he came on board,” a source told the media.

Another said, “A lot of new staff, including senior management, have been hired over the last several months but no one tells us who they are, or what they will be doing. They show up all of a sudden.”
“As a result, people get affected. They start wondering whether the new staff are here to eventually replace them,” the person added.

The above is from an editorial piece posted in the TRE titled, ‘Sports Hub CEO: A proud S’porean who didn’t serve NS’. And here is a photo of his office and staff. Look very carefully, are the staff Singaporeans? If you need to, expand the photo to get a better picture. Very likely they are Singaporeans, new citizens, or PRs or employment pass holders.

Notice anything amissed in the picture? I would find this office normal if it is taken in New Delhi or Mumbai, but not the Singapore Sports Hub. Maybe the picture is actually taken in New Delhi or Mumbai to create a wrong impression that it is taken from the Singapore Sports Hub. The more I look at the picture the more I don’t believe that it was taken in Singapore, NOT my Singapore, NOT in a govt office. This picture has drawn many criticisms in the TRE for being very unSingapore. Many would not think the staff is of Singaporean mix or reflective of Singapore’s demography. I cannot believe that Singaporeans could not fill these jobs or did not qualify for these jobs, or did not want to work in these jobs and you need to fill them with foreigners.(This comment would be unnecessary and inappropriate if the staff in the said office were in India and the info posted in the TRE article will be fake news or inaccurate news. Got to be careful of fake news or misinformation).

This is how sick and bad this country has become to Singaporeans if this picture is real. OK, this as a general comment is still not out of sync from many comments all over the places. We have lost not only our jobs to foreigners but our country as well. Please do not blame anyone of them in the picture. They are innocent, just people like you and me that want to work, to get a job.

Who do you think should be blamed for this sickening state of affair when Singaporeans could not find decent jobs, (those in the pictures are decent jobs and the CEO’s job would be highly desired by Singaporeans), while pathetic Singaporeans ended up unemployed, unemployable or underemployed.
Which clowns allowed this to happen? Who has/have betrayed the Singaporeans?

With khongcum people in charge this is what is happening to your country. Some said not khongcum but sorchai in charge. Did anyone shout betrayed?

PS.
Sawhney was formerly an Indian national. According to his LinkedIn information, he studied at Birla Institute of Technology and Science for his first degree in Mechanical Engineering before going to Indian Institute of Foreign Trade for his MBA.

He started his career in ITC Global Holdings involving in commodity trading. Some time in the mid-2000s, he came to Singapore and joined ESPN STAR Sports, a broadcast media. He later became a PR and a new citizen.

Why is this chap not a mismatch for the CEO job in the Sports Hub?

Elected President – Another constitutional challenge

M Ravi has lodged his challenge to the High Court on the EP issue on the ground that it is unconstitutional. His premise is that the reservation of the EP for a candidate based on race is unconstitutional. Holy shit, how come no one knows that this is racist and is unconstitutional, that our constitution is happy and open to have race imbedded and enshrined in it as a holy part of the constitution? And no one could see anything wrong with this and only M Ravi could! Or is it that M Ravi is not normal thus can see the not normal thing or the rest of the people who did not see anything unconstitutional about it are abnormal or simply daft? Even the whole legal fraternity could not see anything wrong with this amendment to the constitution! Is this normal or abnormal?

Ravi said that the changes to the constitution are racial discrimination, positive or negative racial discrimination is discrimination. Period.

Cheng Bock’s challenge is more technical in nature, about how to count correctly. This is another uniquely Singapore thing. Unable to count despite our great teaching methodology in arithmetics for the school children is no laughing matter. It is a national trait. Perhaps the govt should consult the primary school kids on how to count and the proper and correct way to count. Oops, it is the AGC office that did the counting. I don’t have much confidence in the ability of lawyers in counting. They can talk a dead person to life but counting 1,2 and 3 seems to be a big challenge to them.

Ok, is there anything else that is unconstitutional and would there be another mad lawyer, oops, I mean abnormal lawyer to stand up and say it is unconstitutional and must be challenged?

How about the unequal rights given to some people that are supposed to be more equal because they are richer, run big companies and all the craps that have no real relevance or relationship to the dignity and integrity of the office of the Presidency? Should not everyone be equal under the constitution and no one should be allowed to claim himself to be more equal than others just because he got a few dollars more than others?

The regulation to exclude 99% or more of the population because of some ridiculous criteria based on money and position in society is foul, smelly like shit. How can the constitution allow this to be included and no one cries foul? The criteria are saying that the citizens are not equal under the constitution. How can?

No legal mad man thinks this is mad? Maybe this is the reason. All the legal men and women are not mad to think this is mad and unconstitutional. So it must be constitutional. All men are equal but some are more equal than others. And this is a core principle in the Constitution of Singapore. Four legs are good, two legs are better, or is it my aristocratic background makes me different and of better breed than the hoi polloi, so I can be a President and the cheap masses cannot?