Asean Meeting is about angkat Mahathir

The recent Asean Meeting with the big powers is about praising Mahathir and carrying his balls. The rest are just side shows, irrelevant.
Read this as posted in theindependent website and it tells succinctly what the whole meeting was all about.

'This past Monday, Dr Mahathir and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah arrived in Singapore for a 2-day official visit, at the invitation of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Besides meeting PM Lee and his wife Ho Ching, President Halimah Yaacob and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Dr Mahathir and his wife also had an orchid named after them.

One of the highlights of the official visit was NUS’ conferral of honorary doctorates to Dr Mahathir and Dr Siti Hasmah. Dr Mahathir studied medicine at NUS in Singapore for about six years in his younger days. NUS is his wife’s alma mater, as well.'

I dunno who is the silly bugger that formulated this angkat Mahathir exercise and dunno what they want to achieve. And they think Mahathir is so easy to angkat, to flatter and taken in and to appreciate and reciprocate kindness with kindness? This shows how shallow and lack of understanding of who Mahathir is. Mahathir is a willy old fox with very set mindset on what he wants to do and nothing is going to change him once he decided.  He will demand his price for his water, build his third national car and to build his crooked bridge come what may.

To me, the easiest way to deal with Mahathir is time, playing with time. Time is something that is against Mahathir. The max he has is less than 2 years before passing the premiership to Anwar. And in all likelihood he may be called to his maker anytime, today or tomorrow or the day after. Just play with him, negotiate with him, talk to him until the cow comes home, but not agreeing politely, postpone, delay, will check with the boss, will call back. Set the next meeting as long as one possibly can, needs time to study the details, to check the legal and political implications etc etc. Just wait for him to go.

The angkat Mahathir exercise is so amateurish and Mahathir must be laughing himself insane. How these boys are trying to please him, to make him happy, make him feel big and important is incredible.

This is so unbelieveable, so childish in diplomacy. A little flattery may be tolerable and amusing, but over doing it is something else.

What do you think Mahathir would be thinking? What do you think the Malaysians would be thinking? What do you think Singaporeans would be thinking?

Punch above our weight or go down on bended knees?

Wildlife in Sin City

Singapore is such a safe and peaceful city to the point of being boring. The wildlife here were those behind bars, to be kept at a safe distance. They are wildlife after all. But the bored citizens would amuse themselves with some pet dogs, pet birds and pet fishes, like the thousand dollar carps in district 9, 10 and 11. The owners feel very safe, the pets are also safe.
 
Then things happened. A crocodile was spotted in Sungei Buloh and it caused a stir, so much attention. Then a family of otters was also found there, a few hornbills, and wild boars around the reservoirs. The people got so excited with the wild life. They have not seen them in their entire life and found them so novel and charming in their own ways. They are so nice, cannot possibly cause any harm here. Everyone was endeared to them. I took many photos of the croc, the hornbills and the otters in Sungei Buloh.  They even commissioned David Attenborough to do a special series on the wildlife in Sin City.
 
And because life is good in Singapore, the new migrants started to multiply. Otters were everywhere, even in the city and canals. Hornbills became accustomed to HDB flats. Have yet to see the crocodiles outside Sungei Buloh. Oh, I forgot, the monkies are still in Bukit Timah and MacRitchie Reservoir area. The only nuisance was the crows. With their increasing numbers some even attacked people. Fortunately their wild behavior led to their termination and not many were found in the city anymore. Some have become PRs in Sungei Buloh and attacking the smaller birds, the local residents.
 
The latest, hornbills attacked pet birds hanging outside HDB flats and devoured the pet birds, and eating fruits planted on the corridors. Otters sneaked into private ponds to eat the thousand dollar pet carps. Wild boars digging into gardens and destroying the manicured parks and paths. Some even attacked people in their path.
 
This is only natural. When they grow in numbers, not only that they have to compete for food, they grow in confidence, and knowing that the citizens are harmless and hapless, they would attack, applying the law of the jungle, the fittest shall survive. The locals had no chance against the wildlife that had made this city their permanent residence. They are bigger, fiercer, hungrier and still have the wild instinct of survival.
 
How long would it last before the locals got terminated and replaced by the foreign wildlife? I mean how long would the local wildlife be made extinct or forced to migrate elsewhere and their habitat, their homes, be taken away from them when the foreign wildlife make this their new home, when their number grows and become a majority here?
 
The pet birds in HDB flats are fearing for their life. How about the rich carps in district 9, 10 and 11? Do they feel safe within the confines of their walls and fence, that the wildlife would leave them alone?

No place for empire and aggression – Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the ugliest of them all?

At the recent Asean Meeting with the big powers, this is what Mike Pence said, there is no place for ‘empire and aggression’ in the Indo Pacific region. And as usual the western media Reuters interpreted this as a message pointing a finger at China. To the Evil Empire, they are not an Empire, or only they can be the Empire. No one else can be an empire and anyone who has the capability but with no intention would be demonized as one trying to build an empire. This is like the proverbial phrase, a thief calling others as thiefs.
 
What is an empire? Since the end ofWW2, the Americans have been building and establishing itself as the Empire of the world, ruling and dictating to every country to do their bidding. They have more than 1,000 military bases all over the world with offensive weapons, including nuclear, in Asia, Europe, in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. They have colonies and semi colonies and little USAs to do their bidding at their becks and calls. Compare to these military bases and American vassal states, what did China have? Nothing worth mentioning.
 
And what about aggression? China started the Korean War, China invaded Vietnam in the Vietnam War, China invaded Afghanistan, invaded Iraq, invaded Libya and Syria? China mounting hundreds of thousands of troops and tanks and nuclear bombs in Eastern Europe to threaten Russia? China threatening Iran, threatening to invade Iran, threatening to invade North Korea? China imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea and warned every country of consequences if they trade with these countries?
 
What about China sending provocative warships to Guam and Hawaii in the name of freedom of navigation?
 
Mike Pence spoke about empire and aggression to Asean leaders and thinking that they are fools, that they did not know that the Americans are the Evil empire and conducting aggression against many countries all over the world. This is the arrogance of the Empire. And he told his white lies in a straight face, apparently targeting China in his speech as Reuters would happily agree. And the hawkish spokesman of the Empire John Bolton said, the Empire will build up more forces and increase patrols in the South China Sea.
 
America is NOT an empire and America is a peace loving country, never conduct aggression. It is China, it is China. Of course the unthinking Asians, especially the bananas, would love to believe in this lie. They live their whole life with this lie that they would not want to know the truth.
 
The Evil Empire is everywhere, conducting aggression everywhere, with 1,000 military bases everywhere. The Asean leaders are no fools even if the Americans think they are fools. Duterte has pointedly told the Americans to stop provoking China into a war in the region as the people that would suffer would be the people of Asean with the Pinoys becoming the first victims.
 
The white lies would always be white lies. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the ugliest of them all? Who is the Empire, who is the aggressor? Who is starting wars and fighting wars everywhere?
 
PS. Pass that white man a mirror.

Ong Ye Kung out of the PM race

‘Ong Ye Kung out of PM race, say PAP cadres
 
While Education Minister Ong Ye Kung was elected to the People's Action Party's new Central Executive Committee (CEC), he was not among those nominated by the outgoing CEC. Traditionally, the CEC’s nominations are seen as a reflection of the individuals’ standing within the PAP. Those who are in the list are seen as core party leaders. A cadre from East Coast GRC said: “The list of seven didn’t include Mr Ong, and that means he is out (of the succession race).” ‘
 
The above was reported in Todayonline. It must be deliberately let out. No one is allowed to say this to the media unless blessing is given. Ong Ye Kung is out, Tan Chuan Jin out, Heng Swee Kiat a doubtful starter, Ng Chee Meng also out, only Chan Chun Sing is left as the only contender for the next PM post. His assumption to be the next PM is as sure as the sun will rise. With Hsien Loong still holding on to the post of Sec Gen, it is likely that Chan Chun Sing would be elected as the Asst Sec Gen by popular votes of the cadres. The PAP has more or less elected the next PM for Singapore. They are presenting him to the people as their undisputed elect Dear Leader.
 
Everyone is anticipating that the PAP would call for a snap election next year with the WP still entangled in the lawsuit and the Singapore Harapan still waiting to come to life. There is no time to waste and 2019 looks like a good year for the PAP.
 
While many anti PAP camp commentators and the social media did not have much good things to say about Chan Chun Sing, this unassuming ex general appears to have something that the uninitiated are unaware of. For sure, the PAP and the inner circle of the PAP think very highly of him. All challengers to his rise to Premiership have been brushed aside and the path is clear of all obstacles for him to be the next PM.
 
The PAP is expecting Chan Chun Sing to lead the Party to another big victory and more good years for the PAP. Chan Chun Sing is now the undisputed 4G leader of the PAP and of Singapore, like it or not, agree or not, the people of Singapore will vote him to become the PM in the next GE. Oops, factually the people of Singapore vote the PAP to power and PAP makes Chan Chun Sing the PM, chosen by the PAP inner circle, not elected by the people directly. The people have no say on this.
 
Singapore should prepare to welcome their new Dear Leader.
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Till death do us part

The headline in yesterday’s Straits Times (14 Nov 2018) that leapt out at the eye was not “Till death do us part” but “Malaysia Cabinet agrees to scrap death penalty”.  That is indeed eye-popping stuff because it shows how close the enemy is at the gates. The enemy is of course what the Government sees as bleeding-heart liberals who have campaigned long and hard for the abolition of the death penalty - and against which the government has fought equally long and hard to turn away. For years, the Singapore Cabinet has defended capital punishment as a necessary evil, something they found no joy in doing but had to for the greater good. And they had a staunch ally in the Malaysian Cabinet who had no qualms - until now - about hanging people for apparently the same reason.

But amid the growing pressure to do away with capital punishment worldwide (only 52 countries enforce it now), our soulmates look all ready to cave in.  If the Cabinet decision is approved by the Malaysian Parliament, capital punishment will be replaced with a minimum of 30 years in jail.  Even so, the planned move may not be as straightforward as it seems. For starters, there is the question of whether the abolition will cover every crime in the book.  While de facto Law Minister Liew Vui Keong insisted that it would, Deputy PM Wan Azizah was less sure, saying that the government would review abolishing it for murder. Muddying the waters further was an online poll that showed 82% of 22,000 Malaysian netizens opposing it – upset by the death of a baby who was physically and sexually abused while in the care of a babysitter. DAP MP Ramkarpal Singh insisted that the death penalty should be allowed in murder cases involving child victims – and he is an advocate of abolition!

Their sentiments also mirror the conundrum facing the government and abolitionists this side of the Causeway. Abolitionists’ main arguments for abolition range from the inhumanity of taking a life to the irreversibility of the death penalty in the event of a wrong verdict, but not all of them are sure about  the wisdom of a blanket repeal. Take the case of Annie Ee, the intellectually disabled girl who was “tortured” to death by a husband and wife who were supposed to be her minders. Many netters were outraged that they got away with custodial sentences instead of being charged with murder which carries the death penalty. And what of more heinous crimes like mass murder? Should the murderer be shielded from death even though he had done the same to scores of innocent people in the most horrific way? We could go on that even if the murderer were put to death, one life for so many is scant justice to the victims and their families.

Indeed what lies at the heart of the conundrum is the sense of justice. At the end of the day, people must feel that justice has been served. If they feel that the law protects the perpetrator rather than the victim, then it is a failed law however one may argue from the humanitarian point of view. The sense of injustice coming from the knowledge that no matter how heinous the perpetrator’s crime, he will not have to suffer death, is a powerful one. This - plus the fact that he has a choice whether to do it while his victim doesn’t - is the reason behind the government bucking the global trend against the death penalty. And long may it continue.