Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, is the third minister to have
resigned from the Theresa May’s cabinet. The other two were Brexit
Secretary David Davis and junior Brexit minister Steve Baker.
Within the May govt there are pro Brexit and anti Brexit ministers and
MPs and they are standing up for and against Brexit on grounds of
principles and ideas. In this issue May could not use the Whip to whip
them into a corner to agree with her. This is British democracy where
the MPs and ministers could take positions based on their beliefs and
principles that may be against the majority of the govt or the PM.
Could such events happen in the Singapore govt? Would our ministers or
MPs have the guts to stick to their principles and beliefs or the
interests of their constituents to go against the majority of the govt
or the PM? Unlikely as the Whip here is very strong and cannot be
challenged. Any MP or minister thinking of going against the Whip to
make a point would likely be asked to leave. The best they could do is
to hide in the toilet.
Another big factor that is preventing MPs and ministers from going
against the govt or PM is the big salary/income at stake. How many would
sacrifice the millions just on the ground of principles, disagreement
or to fight for their constituents against policies and decisions that
were contrary?
Would the British ministers be so gung ho if their salaries/income were
in the millions to resign like Boris Johnson and his two peers? It seems
that the high salary of our ministers and MPs has become a stumbling
block for ministers and MPs to act independently, to act on their
conscience and the interests of their people. Or maybe not as they all
agreed with the party and PM. So they are all in it together, for the
party, for the PM.
So it is safe to say that they have been acting according to their
conscience and beliefs and principles and the interests of the people by
supporting every policy and decision of the govt and PM? Can this be
the case? They all believe that all the govt policies and decisions are
good and aligned to their principles and beliefs and so have no reason
to vote against them or to resign?
What do you think? Is there a conflict of interest between high salary
and principles and beliefs? Or they bo bian because of fear of the Whip?
Or is it the loss of million dollar income?
9/01/2018
Patnaik is not going away
The main media is also dabbling in this Patnaik saga. Guess where they
are coming from. It was reported that there are two camps on this
episode, some finding the employer’s action too harsh and some
disagreed.
I can think of a few camps and their views according to their vested interests and their backgrounds and their agenda. For the foreigners here, especially the Indians, their stand needs no introduction. They would be in the same boat if they have done the same and therefore would like Patnaik to be handled with tender loving care. Too harsh, a counseling and warning would do. Understandable.
In the Singaporean camp two groups stood up. The PGs or older Singaporeans, brought up with the idea of nation building, built the nation, served NS the hard way, raising the flag every morning, would not take kindly to any disrespectful acts against the country and flag. Their stand is that the sacking is appropriate, nothing more, nothing less. To them Singapore is a country, a home for Singaporeans they were taught and trained to protect and defend.
The younger generations, the millennia, are likely to look at things differently. These young people have had a good life, never experience hard times and how tough and painful it was to build a new country that they can call home and for their children. They inherited a country built by their parents and grandparents. And after years of being subject to brain washing, that foreigners are talents and here to help them, as long as they have their hamburgers and night outs and good time, nothing will shake them. Even if a million foreigners are brought into this island they would not see anything wrong with it.
In the Patnaik case, so what, small matter lah, don’t over react. Buy him a beer and all will be well. They did not call this generation the marsh mellow, or strawberry or whatever generation for nothing. Life is good and fun. They have not got into the cauldron of fire. There is no fire in their belly.
Patnaik is just having a bit of fun as far as the millenia are concerned. What flag? Just a harmless act lah. They could not see the importance of a national flag and its symbolism. They may use it as a table cloth or a mat to sit on, just a piece of cloth. The trampling and burning of a nation's flag is a very serious matter.
What about those people that everyday tell you how good the foreigners are and treating the foreigners like their darlings, calling them locals? Be nice to them, bring them into your homes, they are very nice people, never commit crimes? Be careful of this group of people. Don’t make them angry. They cannot be trifled with especially when you are unkind to their darlings, the so called locals.
Let’s closed this chapter quickly and move on.
PS. Is Patnaik still in Singapore? His PR still not revoked and looking for another job here? What about the rest that did the same thing? Only one scapegoat?
I can think of a few camps and their views according to their vested interests and their backgrounds and their agenda. For the foreigners here, especially the Indians, their stand needs no introduction. They would be in the same boat if they have done the same and therefore would like Patnaik to be handled with tender loving care. Too harsh, a counseling and warning would do. Understandable.
In the Singaporean camp two groups stood up. The PGs or older Singaporeans, brought up with the idea of nation building, built the nation, served NS the hard way, raising the flag every morning, would not take kindly to any disrespectful acts against the country and flag. Their stand is that the sacking is appropriate, nothing more, nothing less. To them Singapore is a country, a home for Singaporeans they were taught and trained to protect and defend.
The younger generations, the millennia, are likely to look at things differently. These young people have had a good life, never experience hard times and how tough and painful it was to build a new country that they can call home and for their children. They inherited a country built by their parents and grandparents. And after years of being subject to brain washing, that foreigners are talents and here to help them, as long as they have their hamburgers and night outs and good time, nothing will shake them. Even if a million foreigners are brought into this island they would not see anything wrong with it.
In the Patnaik case, so what, small matter lah, don’t over react. Buy him a beer and all will be well. They did not call this generation the marsh mellow, or strawberry or whatever generation for nothing. Life is good and fun. They have not got into the cauldron of fire. There is no fire in their belly.
Patnaik is just having a bit of fun as far as the millenia are concerned. What flag? Just a harmless act lah. They could not see the importance of a national flag and its symbolism. They may use it as a table cloth or a mat to sit on, just a piece of cloth. The trampling and burning of a nation's flag is a very serious matter.
What about those people that everyday tell you how good the foreigners are and treating the foreigners like their darlings, calling them locals? Be nice to them, bring them into your homes, they are very nice people, never commit crimes? Be careful of this group of people. Don’t make them angry. They cannot be trifled with especially when you are unkind to their darlings, the so called locals.
Let’s closed this chapter quickly and move on.
PS. Is Patnaik still in Singapore? His PR still not revoked and looking for another job here? What about the rest that did the same thing? Only one scapegoat?
8/31/2018
Mahathir – angry old man in rage and in a hurry
The news of Mahathir banning any foreigner from buying properties in
Forest City came like a thunderbolt for the owners and buyers and
potential buyers of this city rising out from nowhere. This decision by
Mahathir is going to shake the confidence of all foreign investors in
Malaysia. Who would dare to put money in a country run by an
unpredictable old man that has no respect for law and integrity? This
may be the main reason why he came home empty handed from Japan. He must
have told Abe of his plan to cut down on all the mega projects by China
by changing the laws as he wished. The Japanese must have cold sweat
when asked to pump money into Malaysia knowing what could also happen to
them when this raging old man decided to turn against them.
What is pushing this old man to do what he is doing today? Is the failure of his crooked bridge got anything to do with his anger and vindictive acts today? His pet project to build an unnecessary and crazy bridge to replace a cheap and efficient causeway, wasting money for nothing and rightly stopped the moment he lost political power could be the answer to what he is doing today. He must be telling himself, these buggers brought down my favourite foolish billion dollar project, now is my turn to take revenge on them. ‘I will destroy everything they planned and built to make sure they could not outdo me. They removed my monument, I will remove theirs.’
This seems to be the key motivation driving this old man into his rage. How daring for these people to destroy my dream of a crooked bridge? Now all their dreams and pet projects must also go the way of my crooked bridge.
In his rage he does not care how the world looks at him and his Malaysia, a whimsical untrustworthy country with unreliable and unpredictable leaders and changing policies. Who would dare to invest in Malaysia anymore? And he thinks he could get away with it, tearing down all the multi billion dollar mega projects without having to pay compensation. The developers are likely to sue him and make him, not him, Malaysia, to pay compensation for his reckless decisions. They are not going to walk away without claiming back what they have put into Malaysia.
The next big project to go or close down would be the massive train factory in KL. With all the train projects gone, there would be no need to build trains and other parts in Malaysia anymore. The massive Port Klang project to replace Singapore would end up like his crooked bridge, hanging half way in mid air, half complete structures left to rot. Forest City would answer to his wishes, becomes a jungle, overgrown with forestation, with no resident.
Is this man doing good for Malaysia or is he out to destroy Malaysia, destroying everything his predecessors built out of spite? Without foreign investments, Malaysia is likely to hit negative growth or the lowest growth among Asean countries. Mahathir the savior of a corrupt Malaysia would instead become Mahathir the destroyer of Malaysia, destroying all the reputation, trust and confidence in the Malaysian govt. Malaysia is going to look like a dictatorship run by a tinpot unpredictable old man. Is this what he is doing to Malaysia?
Would Mahathir be chasing out all the foreigners that have bought properties in Johore, in Iskandar and other parts of Malaysia and staying there recently? How far would Mahathir go to rid Malaysia of foreigners who have bought properties and staying in Malaysia?
For the moment the Malaysian narrative is that Mahathir can do whatever he likes, even tearing up commercial contracts and causing parties to lose hundreds of billions without recourse. The Malay Mail even wrote a condescending article that Mahathir’s dilly dallying was his way of trying to save the Chinese face from the cancelled projects.
The Chinese leaders might have agreed to Mahathir’s request and on political ground accepted the cancellation of the mega projects. But commercial considerations and contractual obligations would not be swept under the carpet. The compensation clauses would be taken up by the Chinese companies. Even the Forest City developers could take the Malaysian govt to court, I mean ICJ if necessary, to claim compensation for the change of govt policies.
Mahathir may blame Najib for stupidity. The Chinese developers are not so stupid to plough in hundreds of billions of dollars into Malaysia without protecting themselves from controversial political decisions. Mahathir would be served with claims for hundreds of billions as compensation for these projects if they are aborted. If Singapore is firm enough to demand compensation, why would China threw away hundreds of billions and gets insulted by a vindictive old man? Mahathir has all the cards to play and China has no cards to play and has to walk away losing their pants? A political decision would not take away the contractual and monetary obligations in such cases.
My bet, all the projects would be reinstated when Mahathir found out that he has no money to pay for the compensation.
What is pushing this old man to do what he is doing today? Is the failure of his crooked bridge got anything to do with his anger and vindictive acts today? His pet project to build an unnecessary and crazy bridge to replace a cheap and efficient causeway, wasting money for nothing and rightly stopped the moment he lost political power could be the answer to what he is doing today. He must be telling himself, these buggers brought down my favourite foolish billion dollar project, now is my turn to take revenge on them. ‘I will destroy everything they planned and built to make sure they could not outdo me. They removed my monument, I will remove theirs.’
This seems to be the key motivation driving this old man into his rage. How daring for these people to destroy my dream of a crooked bridge? Now all their dreams and pet projects must also go the way of my crooked bridge.
In his rage he does not care how the world looks at him and his Malaysia, a whimsical untrustworthy country with unreliable and unpredictable leaders and changing policies. Who would dare to invest in Malaysia anymore? And he thinks he could get away with it, tearing down all the multi billion dollar mega projects without having to pay compensation. The developers are likely to sue him and make him, not him, Malaysia, to pay compensation for his reckless decisions. They are not going to walk away without claiming back what they have put into Malaysia.
The next big project to go or close down would be the massive train factory in KL. With all the train projects gone, there would be no need to build trains and other parts in Malaysia anymore. The massive Port Klang project to replace Singapore would end up like his crooked bridge, hanging half way in mid air, half complete structures left to rot. Forest City would answer to his wishes, becomes a jungle, overgrown with forestation, with no resident.
Is this man doing good for Malaysia or is he out to destroy Malaysia, destroying everything his predecessors built out of spite? Without foreign investments, Malaysia is likely to hit negative growth or the lowest growth among Asean countries. Mahathir the savior of a corrupt Malaysia would instead become Mahathir the destroyer of Malaysia, destroying all the reputation, trust and confidence in the Malaysian govt. Malaysia is going to look like a dictatorship run by a tinpot unpredictable old man. Is this what he is doing to Malaysia?
Would Mahathir be chasing out all the foreigners that have bought properties in Johore, in Iskandar and other parts of Malaysia and staying there recently? How far would Mahathir go to rid Malaysia of foreigners who have bought properties and staying in Malaysia?
For the moment the Malaysian narrative is that Mahathir can do whatever he likes, even tearing up commercial contracts and causing parties to lose hundreds of billions without recourse. The Malay Mail even wrote a condescending article that Mahathir’s dilly dallying was his way of trying to save the Chinese face from the cancelled projects.
The Chinese leaders might have agreed to Mahathir’s request and on political ground accepted the cancellation of the mega projects. But commercial considerations and contractual obligations would not be swept under the carpet. The compensation clauses would be taken up by the Chinese companies. Even the Forest City developers could take the Malaysian govt to court, I mean ICJ if necessary, to claim compensation for the change of govt policies.
Mahathir may blame Najib for stupidity. The Chinese developers are not so stupid to plough in hundreds of billions of dollars into Malaysia without protecting themselves from controversial political decisions. Mahathir would be served with claims for hundreds of billions as compensation for these projects if they are aborted. If Singapore is firm enough to demand compensation, why would China threw away hundreds of billions and gets insulted by a vindictive old man? Mahathir has all the cards to play and China has no cards to play and has to walk away losing their pants? A political decision would not take away the contractual and monetary obligations in such cases.
My bet, all the projects would be reinstated when Mahathir found out that he has no money to pay for the compensation.
8/30/2018
Patnaik - DBS foreign talent sent packing
DBS has reported that the foreign talent employee, a local from India,
who posted a picture in facebook of a torn Singapore flag is no longer
with DBS. This means he is not in DBS Singapore or DBS India or DBS
anywhere else.
The posting by Avijit Das Patnaik stirred strong nationalist feelings among Singaporeans for violating their pride in Singapore as a nation. Some even threatened to close their DBS accounts. Hopefully this episode ends here and would not be repeated by any foreign talents be they local or not. There are several lessons to be learnt from this episode.
As I mentioned earlier, Singaporeans should not begrudged this Patnaik for his strong feeling and pride for being an Indian national. He should be proud of his motherland, India. Otherwise he would lose all respect as an Indian citizen. At least he can still be proud to be called an Indian, a patriot.
Many foreigners that are here are like Patnaik, be they locals, PRs or new citizens. This is a natural thing. Many of these foreigners came from big countries or bigger than this red dot and have strong ties and pride for their nation. They have long history and rich culture, not like our rojak dunno what way of life. They cannot be easily bought over by monetary incentives. They are not mercenaries.
Our little boys and girls must take note of this. Foreign nationals are not cheapskates, at least most of them, that they would betray their country and their nationalities just because we threw some money in their face. While there are Singaporeans who have this kind of thought, that money is everything, their childishness must not be used to influence govt policies. Money is not everything to these foreigners though it may mean a lot to some Singaporeans. Such Singaporeans are shameless and likely to sell their father and mother if given enough money, definitely their integrity and principles and their country.
Luckily many Singaporeans still have some pride in belonging to this island that resulted in an instantaneous uproar when their national flag was abused. Hopefully the naïve and childish boys and girls would wake up to the fact that a nation, a country and citizenship to a country is not something to be trifled with, to be compromised because of money. We don’t need foreigners that could be easily bought over by our money. Such foreigners or quitters that would quit from their country would quit from here when the situation changed. Call them locals or citizens but deep down inside them, many are still loyal to their motherland and Singapore is just a place to make money before they return home when time is ripe.
The simplicity in the thinking of our boys and girls is frightening and dangerous to the well being of our nation and our citizens. Patnaik has done Singapore a good service by telling the boys and girls to wake up from their foolishness. The foreigners don’t belong here, would not want to belong here, except for a few. They don’t call this piece of rock home. Stop wasting public money on the foreigners and giving them good jobs at the expense of Singaporeans.
The posting by Avijit Das Patnaik stirred strong nationalist feelings among Singaporeans for violating their pride in Singapore as a nation. Some even threatened to close their DBS accounts. Hopefully this episode ends here and would not be repeated by any foreign talents be they local or not. There are several lessons to be learnt from this episode.
As I mentioned earlier, Singaporeans should not begrudged this Patnaik for his strong feeling and pride for being an Indian national. He should be proud of his motherland, India. Otherwise he would lose all respect as an Indian citizen. At least he can still be proud to be called an Indian, a patriot.
Many foreigners that are here are like Patnaik, be they locals, PRs or new citizens. This is a natural thing. Many of these foreigners came from big countries or bigger than this red dot and have strong ties and pride for their nation. They have long history and rich culture, not like our rojak dunno what way of life. They cannot be easily bought over by monetary incentives. They are not mercenaries.
Our little boys and girls must take note of this. Foreign nationals are not cheapskates, at least most of them, that they would betray their country and their nationalities just because we threw some money in their face. While there are Singaporeans who have this kind of thought, that money is everything, their childishness must not be used to influence govt policies. Money is not everything to these foreigners though it may mean a lot to some Singaporeans. Such Singaporeans are shameless and likely to sell their father and mother if given enough money, definitely their integrity and principles and their country.
Luckily many Singaporeans still have some pride in belonging to this island that resulted in an instantaneous uproar when their national flag was abused. Hopefully the naïve and childish boys and girls would wake up to the fact that a nation, a country and citizenship to a country is not something to be trifled with, to be compromised because of money. We don’t need foreigners that could be easily bought over by our money. Such foreigners or quitters that would quit from their country would quit from here when the situation changed. Call them locals or citizens but deep down inside them, many are still loyal to their motherland and Singapore is just a place to make money before they return home when time is ripe.
The simplicity in the thinking of our boys and girls is frightening and dangerous to the well being of our nation and our citizens. Patnaik has done Singapore a good service by telling the boys and girls to wake up from their foolishness. The foreigners don’t belong here, would not want to belong here, except for a few. They don’t call this piece of rock home. Stop wasting public money on the foreigners and giving them good jobs at the expense of Singaporeans.
8/29/2018
Singapore National Games – ‘Pian Ah Peh’
Singapore’s masters athletes signed up in full force to run in the
Singapore National Games 2018. Everyone was there for a bit of fun and
camaraderie. Nothing much was expected except for the individual
athletes to try to do their best for a PB or to test their timings.
In the course of two weekends at the Home of Athletes in Kallang and Bishan Stadium there were a few pleasant surprises for the ah pehs and the ah mahs participating in the competition.
The first surprise came when they were told to open a PayNow account as all winners of individual events would be receiving a cash award. Wow, that’s a nice thought regardless of the amount. All the ah pehs and ah mahs happily gave their names and ICs/mobile numbers and agreed to register for their respective PayNow accounts to await the cash awards. Oh, they knew that no cash awards would be given to individual event winners except for overall winners of the respective age groups. That was stated in the rules and regulation of the Game.
The next pleasant surprise was when uncle and team won the 4x100m relay event. Again we were told that we would be receiving a cash award which we knew the rules and regulations said no. Only winners of events with 4 teams or more would be entitled to cash awards. We took it with half belief. The cash award was confirmed during the prize presentation ceremony when a letter stating the cash award in black and white was given to us. Too good to believe but it was a nice feeling.
The organizers cannot be so stupid to make such mistakes, to tell us that we would receive cash awards and even presented us a congratulatory letter with the amount stated. We were all very happy for such surprises. No one is complaining for sure. How can a nation going to turn itself into a smart city make blunders by saying one thing and doing another? We went home and registered for our PayNow accounts and very hopeful that we would be richer by a few dollars.
We waited and waited but nothing was deposited into our PayNow accounts. Then we received confirmation that all the pleasant surprises were just pleasant surprises and too good to be true. The only thing that we don’t believe is that the organizers could made such elementary mistakes and telling us things that should not be. This could happen in third world countries but not in a first world smart nation. We are going to turn the city into a smart nation. It is not that we were hard up for the few dollars that we knew we were not entitled. But the false hope was unnecessary. Was the false hope a gimmick to con the ah pehs and ah mahs to open PayNow accounts that otherwise they would find no reason to do so? Is this another ‘pain ah peh’ exercise? The mistakes were totally unwarranted. The organizers knew the rules, could not be so blur or so stupid to commit such basic errors right?
The ah pehs kena ‘pian’ another time. Or at least the ah pehs in my relay team were. We were presented medals for winning our events. We were at the podium and Kunalan the sprint legend shook our hands and placed the medals over our necks and photographs were taken. After the presentation ceremony we were told to return the medals. Why? Because nothing was inscribed on the medals. The medals were blank, no description of which event they were meant for. They promised to call us to return the medals to us after inscribing the events on them.
Three weeks have gone by and we even asked them what had happened to our medals. So far no reply. It seems that no one bothers after the end of the Game. It’s over. Let’s move on. We paid to run in the competition and the least we could expect is our medals. Did we kena conned again a third time? Cannot be lah. I think they are running short of metals and have to return to the mines to get some to mint into medals. And this would take time especially if the metal is coming from Australia or some foreign land. And it would take more time to print the words on the medals before delivering the medals to us. 3 weeks after the event is a short time. Just be patient. The Ah pehs must wait for their medals, hopefully they will arrive before the next National Games in 2019.
I think the Indonesians did a better job in Jakarta in organizing the Asian Games. At least the winners got their medals on the same day, after the event. Some, like the case of the swimmers, had their names printed on a certificate on the spot. That’s efficiency. How smart are we as a smart nation? Or is it smart nation but stupid people?
In the course of two weekends at the Home of Athletes in Kallang and Bishan Stadium there were a few pleasant surprises for the ah pehs and the ah mahs participating in the competition.
The first surprise came when they were told to open a PayNow account as all winners of individual events would be receiving a cash award. Wow, that’s a nice thought regardless of the amount. All the ah pehs and ah mahs happily gave their names and ICs/mobile numbers and agreed to register for their respective PayNow accounts to await the cash awards. Oh, they knew that no cash awards would be given to individual event winners except for overall winners of the respective age groups. That was stated in the rules and regulation of the Game.
The next pleasant surprise was when uncle and team won the 4x100m relay event. Again we were told that we would be receiving a cash award which we knew the rules and regulations said no. Only winners of events with 4 teams or more would be entitled to cash awards. We took it with half belief. The cash award was confirmed during the prize presentation ceremony when a letter stating the cash award in black and white was given to us. Too good to believe but it was a nice feeling.
The organizers cannot be so stupid to make such mistakes, to tell us that we would receive cash awards and even presented us a congratulatory letter with the amount stated. We were all very happy for such surprises. No one is complaining for sure. How can a nation going to turn itself into a smart city make blunders by saying one thing and doing another? We went home and registered for our PayNow accounts and very hopeful that we would be richer by a few dollars.
We waited and waited but nothing was deposited into our PayNow accounts. Then we received confirmation that all the pleasant surprises were just pleasant surprises and too good to be true. The only thing that we don’t believe is that the organizers could made such elementary mistakes and telling us things that should not be. This could happen in third world countries but not in a first world smart nation. We are going to turn the city into a smart nation. It is not that we were hard up for the few dollars that we knew we were not entitled. But the false hope was unnecessary. Was the false hope a gimmick to con the ah pehs and ah mahs to open PayNow accounts that otherwise they would find no reason to do so? Is this another ‘pain ah peh’ exercise? The mistakes were totally unwarranted. The organizers knew the rules, could not be so blur or so stupid to commit such basic errors right?
The ah pehs kena ‘pian’ another time. Or at least the ah pehs in my relay team were. We were presented medals for winning our events. We were at the podium and Kunalan the sprint legend shook our hands and placed the medals over our necks and photographs were taken. After the presentation ceremony we were told to return the medals. Why? Because nothing was inscribed on the medals. The medals were blank, no description of which event they were meant for. They promised to call us to return the medals to us after inscribing the events on them.
Three weeks have gone by and we even asked them what had happened to our medals. So far no reply. It seems that no one bothers after the end of the Game. It’s over. Let’s move on. We paid to run in the competition and the least we could expect is our medals. Did we kena conned again a third time? Cannot be lah. I think they are running short of metals and have to return to the mines to get some to mint into medals. And this would take time especially if the metal is coming from Australia or some foreign land. And it would take more time to print the words on the medals before delivering the medals to us. 3 weeks after the event is a short time. Just be patient. The Ah pehs must wait for their medals, hopefully they will arrive before the next National Games in 2019.
I think the Indonesians did a better job in Jakarta in organizing the Asian Games. At least the winners got their medals on the same day, after the event. Some, like the case of the swimmers, had their names printed on a certificate on the spot. That’s efficiency. How smart are we as a smart nation? Or is it smart nation but stupid people?
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