Milk powder – Remember, you want quality, you pay

This mantra of everything must be expensive and priced accordingly is
probably the biggest culprit in the milk powder controversy. Actually it is
wrong to call it a controversy. The prices of milk powder, especially the
branded ones, have reached the roof and priced like the Mercedes and Rolls
Royce, like luxury items, to be worn on the sleeve.


How could rich parents not give their children the best, the most expensive
brand of milk powder with some even claiming to make the child more
intelligent? With only one child, many parents would give everything they
have to the precious child. Even the not so rich would be hard pressed to
want to give their children the best formula milk to compete with the
children of the elite. And so goes the merry go round and branded formula
milk keep raising their prices to be better by being the most expensive
brand.


And how to tell the mothers that the most expensive brand may not be the
best milk powder for their children? Is milk powder just milk powder
regardless of brand? How to convince the mothers that cheap is also good
when they have always been saying, you want good stuff, quality stuff, pay for
it?


Maybe the govt must start to sing another song, price does not matter and
price is not equated to quality. But what about the high prices of
education, of medical services, of expensive goods and services, are they
really good or no good? All politicians are politicians, sama sama, $200k
or $3m also politician.


Milk powder is just milk powder? How to tell the mothers to go for the
cheapest brand, the house brands of some super market chain? They are
equally good. This really needs a lot of convincing to do to tell the
people that cheap is good, that cheap can also be good quality.


During my time, many of my generation’s babies grew up on condensed
milk like Blue Cross, Mermaid, General brand, if I could recall. What milk
powder, branded ones some more, never heard of. Then again, maybe that was
the reason why they are so daft today and unable to see shitty situation
they are in. If that is so, there is more urgency and need for branded milk
powder to make the next generation cleverer and able to think a bit better
than their unthinking parents.


What do you think, higher price, higher fees better or not?


This milk powder crisis is another unbelieveable story that went unheard,
unnoticed while the price of milk powder shot through the roof. Perhaps
everyone was thinking, you must pay for quality what. Obviously this has
reached a beh tahan point and there is political anger to demand the
situation be righted before it becomes another dangerous asset enhancement
thing when at the end everything becomes nothing.

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?