Jack Ma is a phenomenon that is short of a miracle. He is lucky that he is born and bred in China. If he is a Singaporean, he would end up in ITE and today may be a security guard or a taxi driver. But with sheer hard work and seizing on the opportunity available and an entrepreneur streak, today he is the richest man in China with a fortune worth at least S$50 billion. I think today Singapore's leaders would be calling him an above mediocre man, earning more than $500k a year and would be good enough to be invited to drink tea at the Istana and the potential of being a minister. And Jack Ma, if accepted the offer, could be a good case of telling the people that he took a big pay cut to be a minister.
Oops, I should not use Jack Ma as an example as it could interpreted as inviting a foreigner to meddle in Singapore's domestic politics. My sincere apologies. Jack Ma, please come here and apply for a Singapore citizenship. Sure get one, and then stand a chance to be invited to be a minister.
I got carried away with my adoration of this man. I brought this up because of his early retirement and opted to do philanthropy. I hope when our millionaires here earn as much as him, they would also volunteer to do philanthropy, to give away some of their hard earned wealth.
Let me get to the crux of the matter. My first question is whether Jack Ma has gone on a world head hunting trip to find the best foreign talent to head Alibaba. I think this is more urgent as in China they did not have smooth talking talents to be the face of Alibaba. He should follow Singapore's strategy of looking all over the world for such an important position. It would be very good for Alibaba. And with more foreign talents to be brought in by the foreign talent head, Alibaba would look more international. You see, it is very important to have foreigners to run a company that operates internationally. The foreigners would have an advantage with their international exposure. Then Alibaba would be bigger than Apple. If not, Alibaba would remain as it is, cannot grow bigger.
Correct me if I am wrong. I read somewhere that Jack Ma has appointed a Frank Zhang, another Chinaman to replace him. This is a very serious mistake. To go international, Alibaba seriously need a foreign talent, never mind if the foreign talent has not build a company of his own or from the third world. A foreign talent is a foreign talent and an international company must be run by a foreigner. Even our kopitiams and char kway teow hawker stalls would be best to hire a foreign CEO.
Before Jack Ma makes the mistake of his life, he better change his mind and go around the world to hunt for the best man for the job. If that is too expensive, come to Singapore. This island has plenty of very eager foreign talents wanting the job. We may not have top talents among Singaporean. No Singaporean would apply as they have been told that they are daft and their degrees are useless. The only talented Singaporeans are in politics, in the govt. One thing for sure, we have many foreigners that are of top talent calibre here. Jack Ma better hurry up or these top foreign talents would soon be recruited to become ministers to run Singapore or GLCs, after given Singaporean citizenship of course. Singapore's political affairs can only be meddled by Singaporeans, including instant Singaporeans.
9/12/2018
9/11/2018
Mahathir – Malays are lazy, untrustworthy….
Mahathir has finally lashed out at the Malays for being lazy,
untrustworthy, poor work attitude, unwillingness to work hard and many
other things. And I quote this from him as reported in thenewpaper, ‘We
accuse others. We accuse the government, accuse other races. When we
fail, they are at fault. We are never wrong.’
What Mahathir refused to admit is that all the faults and problems of the Malays in Malaysia is his fault. And he is blaming the Malays for it. Not his undoing. During his reign of terror, he made 3 very damaging and irreparable policies that led to the Malays being what they are today, to be scolded by him as lazy and untrustworthy.
His first major blunder was to tell the Malays that they are the owners of the land and can take everything from the other races. There is no need to work, just take. His 30% bumiputra ownership meant that the Malays simply took from the others what others had worked for, struggled to achieve. This was clearly reflected in Robert Kuok’s book when he related how Abdul Razak called him up and told him to hand over 30% of his company to the Malays. But that was not the end, not just 30%. After taking 30%, they simply sold them to the non Malays for immediate cash. And the subsequent years Razak would go to Robert Kuok for another 30% as the earlier 30% was sold to the non bumis and the cycle goes on and on.
Now Mahathir is telling the Malays to work hard to earn his keep. What for, so many Malays have become billionaires and millionaires without having to work, just take. Why would they want to work hard, to change their attitude when the easiest thing to get rich is to take and not by working? This is the tragedy of the Malays under Mahathir’s promise to making them rich without working.
His second major wrong doing was to blame the non Malays, especially the Chinese, for the economic plight of the Malays. This racist policy continues today when the Malays feel so free to wave the kris whenever they like threatening another May 13. Racism and Malay superiority, Ketuanan Melayu, has been entrenched in the Malaysian Constitution and psyche and would not go away for several generations to come, or forever. This Ketuanan Melayu doctrine is the foundation of the 30% take and the control of everything in the country for the Malays. This is Mahathir’s so called for the good of the Malays, to protect the Malay interests, Malays should own everything in Malaysia without having to work for it. Today he is asking them to work hard, to be like the Japanese!
His most damaging policy was to push for the use of the Malay language in everything, from administration, commerce and education. Mahathir had promoted the use of Malay against the use of other languages, especially the English Language that today, most of the younger Malays could hardly read and write English.
What are the consequences of this policy? Look at India, despite all the Indian pride, they have chosen to embrace English as their language of govt and commerce. And the Indians are now swimming like fish in the world where English is the lingua franca and excelling in science, technology and IT and also the academia. The door to the English language world is closed to the Malays for good, after 5 decades of promoting Malays at the expense of English. Any country that wants to chase the world of science and technology cannot do without mastering English. The Chinese and the Japanese are also embarking on big scale learning of the English language. Why? They know that English is an important international and scientific language and not knowing English would put them at a big disadvantage.
Mahathir, in his blinded rage and zeal to endear to the Malays, chose to discard the English language and Malaysia and the Malays are paying a very heavy price for his folly today.
Mahathir should not simply blame the Malays for his wrong doings. His NEP is in ruins. If he had charted the course of Malaysia with a bid of wisdom instead of racial pride, Malaysia and the Malays would not have fallen back so far behind. Mahathir has held back the progress of the Malays in Malaysia by 50 years. He is regretting as he is seeing the result of his failed policies. But as usual, it is not his fault but the fault of the Malays. Luckily he is not blaming the non Malays for this.
His war cry for the Malays, the superiority of the Malays, for the good of the Malays etc etc, has led to the Malays in Malaysia living on crutches, feeding off from the other races, happily, without having to work for it. His latest craze, fluttering between Tokyo and Beijing, begging for aids and free money and technology, is a reflection of his inability to know himself and his shortfalls, a dependence mentality, wanting everything for free without having to work for it, but not knowing it himself. He thinks the world owes him a living. Does he really believe China or any country owes Malaysia an obligation to build everything for free? Does he think Malaysia can go to the world to ask and to take 30% for free?
Who do you think should be blamed for the state of affairs in Malaysia today? The Malays or Mahathir?
PS. Mahathir is a typical politician shouting ‘it is good for you, good for the country’, but destroying the people and country in what he is doing. Do not trust any politician that claimed he is doing it for you and your country, for your own good. Judge them by what they did and the results of their actions. Are the results favourable to you and country or to the contrary.
What Mahathir refused to admit is that all the faults and problems of the Malays in Malaysia is his fault. And he is blaming the Malays for it. Not his undoing. During his reign of terror, he made 3 very damaging and irreparable policies that led to the Malays being what they are today, to be scolded by him as lazy and untrustworthy.
His first major blunder was to tell the Malays that they are the owners of the land and can take everything from the other races. There is no need to work, just take. His 30% bumiputra ownership meant that the Malays simply took from the others what others had worked for, struggled to achieve. This was clearly reflected in Robert Kuok’s book when he related how Abdul Razak called him up and told him to hand over 30% of his company to the Malays. But that was not the end, not just 30%. After taking 30%, they simply sold them to the non Malays for immediate cash. And the subsequent years Razak would go to Robert Kuok for another 30% as the earlier 30% was sold to the non bumis and the cycle goes on and on.
Now Mahathir is telling the Malays to work hard to earn his keep. What for, so many Malays have become billionaires and millionaires without having to work, just take. Why would they want to work hard, to change their attitude when the easiest thing to get rich is to take and not by working? This is the tragedy of the Malays under Mahathir’s promise to making them rich without working.
His second major wrong doing was to blame the non Malays, especially the Chinese, for the economic plight of the Malays. This racist policy continues today when the Malays feel so free to wave the kris whenever they like threatening another May 13. Racism and Malay superiority, Ketuanan Melayu, has been entrenched in the Malaysian Constitution and psyche and would not go away for several generations to come, or forever. This Ketuanan Melayu doctrine is the foundation of the 30% take and the control of everything in the country for the Malays. This is Mahathir’s so called for the good of the Malays, to protect the Malay interests, Malays should own everything in Malaysia without having to work for it. Today he is asking them to work hard, to be like the Japanese!
His most damaging policy was to push for the use of the Malay language in everything, from administration, commerce and education. Mahathir had promoted the use of Malay against the use of other languages, especially the English Language that today, most of the younger Malays could hardly read and write English.
What are the consequences of this policy? Look at India, despite all the Indian pride, they have chosen to embrace English as their language of govt and commerce. And the Indians are now swimming like fish in the world where English is the lingua franca and excelling in science, technology and IT and also the academia. The door to the English language world is closed to the Malays for good, after 5 decades of promoting Malays at the expense of English. Any country that wants to chase the world of science and technology cannot do without mastering English. The Chinese and the Japanese are also embarking on big scale learning of the English language. Why? They know that English is an important international and scientific language and not knowing English would put them at a big disadvantage.
Mahathir, in his blinded rage and zeal to endear to the Malays, chose to discard the English language and Malaysia and the Malays are paying a very heavy price for his folly today.
Mahathir should not simply blame the Malays for his wrong doings. His NEP is in ruins. If he had charted the course of Malaysia with a bid of wisdom instead of racial pride, Malaysia and the Malays would not have fallen back so far behind. Mahathir has held back the progress of the Malays in Malaysia by 50 years. He is regretting as he is seeing the result of his failed policies. But as usual, it is not his fault but the fault of the Malays. Luckily he is not blaming the non Malays for this.
His war cry for the Malays, the superiority of the Malays, for the good of the Malays etc etc, has led to the Malays in Malaysia living on crutches, feeding off from the other races, happily, without having to work for it. His latest craze, fluttering between Tokyo and Beijing, begging for aids and free money and technology, is a reflection of his inability to know himself and his shortfalls, a dependence mentality, wanting everything for free without having to work for it, but not knowing it himself. He thinks the world owes him a living. Does he really believe China or any country owes Malaysia an obligation to build everything for free? Does he think Malaysia can go to the world to ask and to take 30% for free?
Who do you think should be blamed for the state of affairs in Malaysia today? The Malays or Mahathir?
PS. Mahathir is a typical politician shouting ‘it is good for you, good for the country’, but destroying the people and country in what he is doing. Do not trust any politician that claimed he is doing it for you and your country, for your own good. Judge them by what they did and the results of their actions. Are the results favourable to you and country or to the contrary.
9/10/2018
Who is running the USA
The anonymous letter appearing in the New York Times about how the staff
of White House trying to bypass Donald Trump or to block him from
making policies that are detrimental to the Americans gives the
Americans and the world food for thought as to who is running the USA.
If what was reported is true, Trump is a lame duck or at least only able
to do so much and most of the American policies, especially foreign
policies are dictated by his staff against the wishes of Trump.
This speaks clearly why the Americans are putting so much pressure on North Korea and literally doing things that Trump would not have agreed, offending the North Koreans by raising sanctions and placing more unacceptable demands on the North Koreans. Trump is saying and willing one thing while his staff is doing another.
The reasons for the White House staff to act in the way they are is due to Trump’s amoral activities and also his incompetence, his ‘impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.’ What it is saying is that when there is a rogue President, the staff under him will act independently to check on the President, to obstruct or hijack the President’s decision making process, for the good of the USA and the American people. The President could be the president and continue ranting and acting wildly, but these would not be allowed to derail policy making process and bad policies from being implemented.
This is perhaps one of the strongest point in American democracy when the power of the President is not absolute and good men and women would stand up to do what is right and good for the country. No rogue President or head of state could bring down the USA or work against the interest of the people and country.
How many countries in the world has such a system of checks and balance on executive power? Of course for such a system to function, there are conditions and also good people who are brave enough and not beholden to the President to think critically, logically and independently from the President. It calls for a lot of guts and conviction to work against the President to protect the good and interest of people and country.
American is unlikely to have a dictator as his power could easily be checked. Trump may try to abuse his position of power, but it is not going to be easy and unrestrained. This is what democracy is all about.
This speaks clearly why the Americans are putting so much pressure on North Korea and literally doing things that Trump would not have agreed, offending the North Koreans by raising sanctions and placing more unacceptable demands on the North Koreans. Trump is saying and willing one thing while his staff is doing another.
The reasons for the White House staff to act in the way they are is due to Trump’s amoral activities and also his incompetence, his ‘impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.’ What it is saying is that when there is a rogue President, the staff under him will act independently to check on the President, to obstruct or hijack the President’s decision making process, for the good of the USA and the American people. The President could be the president and continue ranting and acting wildly, but these would not be allowed to derail policy making process and bad policies from being implemented.
This is perhaps one of the strongest point in American democracy when the power of the President is not absolute and good men and women would stand up to do what is right and good for the country. No rogue President or head of state could bring down the USA or work against the interest of the people and country.
How many countries in the world has such a system of checks and balance on executive power? Of course for such a system to function, there are conditions and also good people who are brave enough and not beholden to the President to think critically, logically and independently from the President. It calls for a lot of guts and conviction to work against the President to protect the good and interest of people and country.
American is unlikely to have a dictator as his power could easily be checked. Trump may try to abuse his position of power, but it is not going to be easy and unrestrained. This is what democracy is all about.
9/09/2018
Give Mr Bean new life in Red Dot
There was news that Rowan Atkinson was thinking of retiring Mr Bean a few years back. Not sure if this is the end of Mr Bean. During an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he gave this replied. 'Atkinson told the Daily Telegraph's
Review. "Apart from the fact that your physical ability starts to
decline, I also think someone in their 50s being childlike becomes a
little sad. You've got to be careful."' I think this is good advice for anyone above 50 to act childish or talk childishly. Anyway this is not my point. I was thinking of getting Mr Bean to produce a movie on Mas Selamat's childish escape from a high security prison. This movie would endear every Singaporean to it as the memory has been forever etched deeply in the psyche of every Singaporeans that lived through that hilarious episode of our history.
Below is a draft of my script for this movie, titled 'Mr Bean's Escape from Blue House'.
Scene 1. Mr Bean, the terrorist, is happily daydreaming of his success as a terrorist and being rewarded high heavens until the knocking at the door, at 3am woke him up. And a few men in dark glasses, in the wee hours, in dark suit and take him away.
Scene 2. Mr Bean, the terrorist, is taken on a tour of Blue House by men and women wearing dark glasses to impress on him how secured and heavily guarded is the Blue House, the patrols, guards, electric fence, cctvs etc etc. And this privilege knowledge is replayed in Mr Bean's head as he dry run his escape plan.
Scene 3. Mr Bean's family members visit him and under the watchful eyes of men and women in dark glasses, he manages to slip his escape plan to them. This part requires special talent from Mr Bean's arsenal of childish but effective tricks.
Scene 4. Mr Bean is led to the toilet by women in dark glass for a pee. This is followed up by his contortionist act of squeezing through the toilet window. But before that he would have to lay his carpet of toilet rolls nicely to break his fall.
Scene 5. Mr Bean is out of the toilet and out of sight of the men and women in dark glasses. He also changes into dark suits and put on dark glasses and walked out of the Blue House in style. But before that he laid a series of traces leading to the high security fence, attaching a piece of his prison wear on the fence to lead the men in dark glasses to go astray, thinking that he climbed over the fence.
Scene 6. Out on a limb, he continued to leave clues that he had taken a path into the nearby jungle before taking a lift from his friends waiting nearby. This would be followed by a mad scramble by the men and women in dark glasses running all over the jungle.
Scene 7. Mr Bean enjoying his pop corn watching TV in his sister's flat while the security forces were combing all the tourist sites and parks looking for him.
Scene 8. Mr Bean, now acting as the minister in charge with a little makeover, appeared on TV to make his famous assessment of his whereabout, something like, 'He is either in the island or he is out of the island.'
Scene 9. This is the interesting part with Mr Bean planning his escape to Malaysia. Several scenarios can be worked on like how he swims across the Singapore Straits, aided by his limping leg that actually became a super rudder or tail fin. Or he could be seen testing on different kinds of gear, plastic bags, drink bottles, oil drums or simply hanging on to a coconut trunk.
Scene 10. He abandons all the childish plans to swim across the Straits and confidently walks through the customs at the Causeway, wearing dark glasses and in dark suits.
Scene 11. How Mr Bean is enjoying his new freedom in a kampong but feeling dull with an unexciting life doing nothing. Then he hatches a plan to inform the Malaysian Police for a deal to hand him back to the men and women in dark glasses so that he could continue to enjoy his pleasant stay at the Blue House in Mount Pleasant. The End.
Actually there are many scripts for a Singapore version of Mr Bean or Missy Bean with Michelle Chong as the Singapore version of Mr Bean. It could be made into a serial with so many wonderful ideas coming from the political scene. Things like how Missy Bean buys a flat with a $1000 pay, how she looks so dignified when she struck Toto, or how she exercises picking cardboards and pushing makeshift carts, or how she sneers at the 3rd, 4th or 5th raters by not wanting to join the opposition when invited, or trying to explain how GST is to help the poor, or why CPF is not your money and it is good to put more money into the CPF, safe forever. And her favourite, how to be a foreign talent and survives in this island that is so welcoming of foreign talents like maids and construction workers, how she takes a Grab taxi driven by her employer.....
There are just so many humorous things for Missy Bean in Red Dot to act on. I am sure all of you would have even better ideas and better scripts for Missy Bean.
Below is a draft of my script for this movie, titled 'Mr Bean's Escape from Blue House'.
Scene 1. Mr Bean, the terrorist, is happily daydreaming of his success as a terrorist and being rewarded high heavens until the knocking at the door, at 3am woke him up. And a few men in dark glasses, in the wee hours, in dark suit and take him away.
Scene 2. Mr Bean, the terrorist, is taken on a tour of Blue House by men and women wearing dark glasses to impress on him how secured and heavily guarded is the Blue House, the patrols, guards, electric fence, cctvs etc etc. And this privilege knowledge is replayed in Mr Bean's head as he dry run his escape plan.
Scene 3. Mr Bean's family members visit him and under the watchful eyes of men and women in dark glasses, he manages to slip his escape plan to them. This part requires special talent from Mr Bean's arsenal of childish but effective tricks.
Scene 4. Mr Bean is led to the toilet by women in dark glass for a pee. This is followed up by his contortionist act of squeezing through the toilet window. But before that he would have to lay his carpet of toilet rolls nicely to break his fall.
Scene 5. Mr Bean is out of the toilet and out of sight of the men and women in dark glasses. He also changes into dark suits and put on dark glasses and walked out of the Blue House in style. But before that he laid a series of traces leading to the high security fence, attaching a piece of his prison wear on the fence to lead the men in dark glasses to go astray, thinking that he climbed over the fence.
Scene 6. Out on a limb, he continued to leave clues that he had taken a path into the nearby jungle before taking a lift from his friends waiting nearby. This would be followed by a mad scramble by the men and women in dark glasses running all over the jungle.
Scene 7. Mr Bean enjoying his pop corn watching TV in his sister's flat while the security forces were combing all the tourist sites and parks looking for him.
Scene 8. Mr Bean, now acting as the minister in charge with a little makeover, appeared on TV to make his famous assessment of his whereabout, something like, 'He is either in the island or he is out of the island.'
Scene 9. This is the interesting part with Mr Bean planning his escape to Malaysia. Several scenarios can be worked on like how he swims across the Singapore Straits, aided by his limping leg that actually became a super rudder or tail fin. Or he could be seen testing on different kinds of gear, plastic bags, drink bottles, oil drums or simply hanging on to a coconut trunk.
Scene 10. He abandons all the childish plans to swim across the Straits and confidently walks through the customs at the Causeway, wearing dark glasses and in dark suits.
Scene 11. How Mr Bean is enjoying his new freedom in a kampong but feeling dull with an unexciting life doing nothing. Then he hatches a plan to inform the Malaysian Police for a deal to hand him back to the men and women in dark glasses so that he could continue to enjoy his pleasant stay at the Blue House in Mount Pleasant. The End.
Actually there are many scripts for a Singapore version of Mr Bean or Missy Bean with Michelle Chong as the Singapore version of Mr Bean. It could be made into a serial with so many wonderful ideas coming from the political scene. Things like how Missy Bean buys a flat with a $1000 pay, how she looks so dignified when she struck Toto, or how she exercises picking cardboards and pushing makeshift carts, or how she sneers at the 3rd, 4th or 5th raters by not wanting to join the opposition when invited, or trying to explain how GST is to help the poor, or why CPF is not your money and it is good to put more money into the CPF, safe forever. And her favourite, how to be a foreign talent and survives in this island that is so welcoming of foreign talents like maids and construction workers, how she takes a Grab taxi driven by her employer.....
There are just so many humorous things for Missy Bean in Red Dot to act on. I am sure all of you would have even better ideas and better scripts for Missy Bean.
9/08/2018
What has stupidity has no cure got to do with ride hail ride companies?
China is conducting a nation wide inspection of all ride hailing companies after a passenger was raped and murdered after calling a ride from Didi. It always needs a painful lesson for people to wake up. But for the stupidity has no cure type, no amount of lessons would change their thinking and way of life unless it affects them personally.
China is in a way quite homogeneous other than the autonomous regions. They too are quite homogeneous in their own ways. Any foreigner or stranger to their provinces would be noticeable. In Red Dot, when more than 50% of the residents are foreigners, with a large number of foreigners given citizenship, everyone is a stranger and no longer raise the red flag.
With ride hailing companies, and with taxis allowing locals, ie foreigners and new citizens to drive taxis, are there risk to personal security? Our strawberry generations are happily jumping into taxis and Grab rides without a single thought on who is the driver and his background. Singapore is very safe and safety is being taken for granted, not only by the strawberry generations but by parents and the govt.
The strangers, now locals, that were brought in are totally unknown elements, just like the maids. And they are given the right to drive our people, children and women in their cars to anywhere they like, and the maids are trusted to take care of our olds and babies with very little supervision, and to live in the homes. What kind of people are they, any psychiatric, psychopathic or mental problems, terrorist connections, paedophiles, sex maniacs, people with questionable morality and criminals?
The lackadaisical ways we go about allowing these foreigners to come in and live with us, and mingle with us like one of us is scary if one has any sense of fear and safety concerns. The exception clause always applies to Singapore. It would not happen here. We are very safe, very well governed. The foreigners we brought in are good people. They don't commit crimes, only Singaporeans commit crimes.
Good luck to the stupidity has no cures.
China is in a way quite homogeneous other than the autonomous regions. They too are quite homogeneous in their own ways. Any foreigner or stranger to their provinces would be noticeable. In Red Dot, when more than 50% of the residents are foreigners, with a large number of foreigners given citizenship, everyone is a stranger and no longer raise the red flag.
With ride hailing companies, and with taxis allowing locals, ie foreigners and new citizens to drive taxis, are there risk to personal security? Our strawberry generations are happily jumping into taxis and Grab rides without a single thought on who is the driver and his background. Singapore is very safe and safety is being taken for granted, not only by the strawberry generations but by parents and the govt.
The strangers, now locals, that were brought in are totally unknown elements, just like the maids. And they are given the right to drive our people, children and women in their cars to anywhere they like, and the maids are trusted to take care of our olds and babies with very little supervision, and to live in the homes. What kind of people are they, any psychiatric, psychopathic or mental problems, terrorist connections, paedophiles, sex maniacs, people with questionable morality and criminals?
The lackadaisical ways we go about allowing these foreigners to come in and live with us, and mingle with us like one of us is scary if one has any sense of fear and safety concerns. The exception clause always applies to Singapore. It would not happen here. We are very safe, very well governed. The foreigners we brought in are good people. They don't commit crimes, only Singaporeans commit crimes.
Good luck to the stupidity has no cures.
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