Leong Sze Hian is being sued by Hsien Loong for sharing an article in
thestatestimes alleging that Hsien Loong is complicit in the 1MDB
corruption scandal. Leong posted this in his Facebook,
‘According to The Straits Times, Leong shared the article “Breaking
News: Singapore Lee Hsien Loong becomes 1MDB’s key investigation target –
Najib signed several unfair…” and alleged that former Malaysian Prime
Minister Najib Razak had signed “secret deals” with Lee to launder money
through Singaporean banks….
Both ST and TOC reported that on Nov. 12, Leong then received a letter
from Drew & Napier, demanding that Leong make a public apology and
compensate PM Lee for damages.’ Quoted from The mothership
Alleging or accusing someone of corruption, particularly politicians in
office is a very dangerous thing unless one has all the evidence and the
money to fight an expensive lawsuit. One can be sued until bankrupt or
be bankrupted by the fees paid to lawyers even if one wins the case. Not
many people have hard evidence to win such cases. Thus it is futile to
make such allegations.
While we discuss and criticise govt policies and social, economic and
political issues, please stay away from attacking anyone personally
especially on corruption or abuse of power. It is not necessary to do so
as we are just ordinary citizens and unable to pay the price of a legal
tussle or to defend ourselves effectively when being sued. Remember
what had happened in the NKF golden tap case. The first whistleblower
had to pay damages and apologised even when he was right.
I hope this blog will continue without infringing such taboo areas.
Otherwise we would have to abandon this blog for good. So post carefully
and be critical on issues but stay away from trouble, from alleging
anyone of wrongdoings. Do not be too personal. Don’t throw an egg
against a stone wall. Know your limits and your proper place. You can’t
punch above your weight as a nobody individual. Accept your fate. Don’t
wanna be a dead or bankrupt hero.
12/05/2018
Singapore Malaysia sea and space row brewing
'Earlier on Tuesday, Loke told
the Malaysian parliament that his country intends to reclaim its
airspace over southern Johor from Singapore....
Asked if he was concerned that
the airspace and maritime issues might escalate, Khaw said, “I certainly
hope not. As I said, it’s certainly not conducive to bilateral
relations. We have so many things that we want to work together. The
potential for doing much more is huge.
“We hope that good sense will prevail…let’s sit down and
let’s understand each other…find some common solution, common space
which can be a win-win.”' Yahoo News
Less than a month after Mahathir was honoured profusely by Singapore and even awarded a doctorate for fostering good relations between the two states, Malaysia and Singapore is staring at each other over cross border intrusions by Malaysian govt boats and reclaiming airspace delegated to Singapore air traffic control. The buttering of Mahathir did not seem to help in improving relations between the two states that was supposed to be damn bloody good with Mahathir in charge. If not they would be no need to give him the honorary doctorate. Perhaps Mahathir did not know what is happening and like Khaw said, someone from Singapore side must talk to Mahathir and hopefully Mahathir would tell his officials to stop messing up the good relations between the two states. If this does not happen then it is right to withdraw the honorary doctorate from him.
When Najib was in charge, relations was good but not damn bloody good. Otherwise we would have given Najib the same honorary doctorate for good relations. Come to think of it, Najib deserves a higher award for building a fantastic relationship between the two states. I am quite puzzled why relationship has taken a turn for the worse. Maybe we did not angkat Mahathir enough. How about inviting Mahathir for a durian party at the Istana and then give him Singapore's highest award, some pingkat tak boleh tahan (PTBT) for Mahathir to wear home? President Halimah could to the honour to hang the medal on Mahathir. Relations between the two states would surely improve and the current row could be quickly forgotten if Mahathir say so.
12/04/2018
Trump’s double talk - Soya beans turning into waste
Earlier I wrote about the Australia iron ore and other raw material that
have turned into rubbish, unwanted waste, when they could not find any
buyer. Yes, any product that has no buyer will become waste, as good as
worthless. And this is exactly what is happening to many of American’s
crops, particularly soya beans and other seed products. Even their
poultry products, sea food, like pork and lobsters, have become
worthless to a certain extent as China is not buying. China is buying
from Canada and elsewhere.
The agriculture and dairy farmers have been boosting their production to meet the growing demands of such products and growing rich happily until Trump’s reckless trade war with China. China’s purchase of these products has dropped by as much as 90%. The American farmers are desperate and trying to channel their goods to other countries but there are just not enough buyers that could buy at the same volume as China. China imports 60% of American soya beans.
The result of this trade war is that all the agricultural products are now turning into waste. The farmers stored as many as they could. The warehousing business has boomed. All the warehouses are full and they are furiously building more warehouses to cater for the demand, including cold stores for the meat and dairy products. But the volume laying in waiting is just too voluminous for the industry.
What could the farmers do but to let their crops rot literally in the fields. There is no meaning to harvest them as they have no place to store them and no buyers to take them away. The farmers are having a holiday, not tending to their farms. The livestock too are having a holiday, with extended life, thanks to Trump.
On the other side of the equation China is turning to other suppliers for their needs. Russia is offering China thousands of acres of land to plant soya beans. Other farmers around the world are doing roaring business with China. When the new suppliers and supply chains are established and met the needs of China, China would cease to depend on American farmers for good. The American farmers can have a long, long holiday, and maybe have to switch profession. Their products in the warehouses would be just be waste products with no buyer. And they would have to pay for their storage until they give up. And they would have to pay for removing and burning them away as dirt. China has also stopped importing American oil and LNG.
The American farmers have Donald Trump and his hawkish advisors to thank for their bad advice and bad policies. This is the beginning of the decline of the American Empire when bad and stupid men and women turned up in the White House and take charge.
Now there is a truce in Buenos Aires after the G20 Meeting. Trump declared victory. The Chinese are going to buy a lot of produce from America. What cock is Trump shouting? China wants to buy a lot from the US, and has been buying US poultry and farm produces all the while. 60% of American soya beans would to go China if not because of Trump’s silly trade war. Now Trump is happy, China is buying again…but never the same volume as China would have committed to buy from other sources.
China would not only want to buy again and buy more. But what is there to buy from the US other than farm produce and Boeings? China has everything and producing everything cheaper than the US? The only few things China wants to buy, and with a lot or American dollars, are high tech products, land, properties, but the Americans refused to sell hiding behind national security concerns. How much soya beans and meat can China buy to offset the trade imbalance? China has no use of the hoards of American dollars if it cannot use them to buy American products.
So, who is the idiot that caused the trade imbalance and what has the truce achieved in Buenos Aires? Nothing but going back to square one at most. This is quite like the Korean truce with a stalemate at the 38 parallel with the Americans claiming victory after being defeated by the PLA volunteers and chased all the way from the Yalu River to the 38 parallel. So this truce is another American victory because China continues to buy soya beans and American produce when China was buying all the while? What would happen is that China would no longer buy the same amount, but lesser as China has already bought what it needed and also developed new suppliers and supply chains.
Who is the loser and claiming victory? Many farmers would continue to go bankrupt as a result.
The agriculture and dairy farmers have been boosting their production to meet the growing demands of such products and growing rich happily until Trump’s reckless trade war with China. China’s purchase of these products has dropped by as much as 90%. The American farmers are desperate and trying to channel their goods to other countries but there are just not enough buyers that could buy at the same volume as China. China imports 60% of American soya beans.
The result of this trade war is that all the agricultural products are now turning into waste. The farmers stored as many as they could. The warehousing business has boomed. All the warehouses are full and they are furiously building more warehouses to cater for the demand, including cold stores for the meat and dairy products. But the volume laying in waiting is just too voluminous for the industry.
What could the farmers do but to let their crops rot literally in the fields. There is no meaning to harvest them as they have no place to store them and no buyers to take them away. The farmers are having a holiday, not tending to their farms. The livestock too are having a holiday, with extended life, thanks to Trump.
On the other side of the equation China is turning to other suppliers for their needs. Russia is offering China thousands of acres of land to plant soya beans. Other farmers around the world are doing roaring business with China. When the new suppliers and supply chains are established and met the needs of China, China would cease to depend on American farmers for good. The American farmers can have a long, long holiday, and maybe have to switch profession. Their products in the warehouses would be just be waste products with no buyer. And they would have to pay for their storage until they give up. And they would have to pay for removing and burning them away as dirt. China has also stopped importing American oil and LNG.
The American farmers have Donald Trump and his hawkish advisors to thank for their bad advice and bad policies. This is the beginning of the decline of the American Empire when bad and stupid men and women turned up in the White House and take charge.
Now there is a truce in Buenos Aires after the G20 Meeting. Trump declared victory. The Chinese are going to buy a lot of produce from America. What cock is Trump shouting? China wants to buy a lot from the US, and has been buying US poultry and farm produces all the while. 60% of American soya beans would to go China if not because of Trump’s silly trade war. Now Trump is happy, China is buying again…but never the same volume as China would have committed to buy from other sources.
China would not only want to buy again and buy more. But what is there to buy from the US other than farm produce and Boeings? China has everything and producing everything cheaper than the US? The only few things China wants to buy, and with a lot or American dollars, are high tech products, land, properties, but the Americans refused to sell hiding behind national security concerns. How much soya beans and meat can China buy to offset the trade imbalance? China has no use of the hoards of American dollars if it cannot use them to buy American products.
So, who is the idiot that caused the trade imbalance and what has the truce achieved in Buenos Aires? Nothing but going back to square one at most. This is quite like the Korean truce with a stalemate at the 38 parallel with the Americans claiming victory after being defeated by the PLA volunteers and chased all the way from the Yalu River to the 38 parallel. So this truce is another American victory because China continues to buy soya beans and American produce when China was buying all the while? What would happen is that China would no longer buy the same amount, but lesser as China has already bought what it needed and also developed new suppliers and supply chains.
Who is the loser and claiming victory? Many farmers would continue to go bankrupt as a result.
12/03/2018
Why are there so many anti China articles in the main media?
No one can walk away not noticing the amount of anti China articles or
negative articles by American and pro western writers on China,
depicting China as the bad guy and the Americans as the angel in the
local media. On 30 Nov alone, one full page in Top of the News with
three articles, two by ST’s US correspondent Nirmal Ghosh were
published. One of the articles even appeared on the front page of ST.
All these articles, all looking at China from the squint eyes of
American/western interests come first and are good are as good as fake
news or half truths, or even mischievous disinformation.
Why would reading the main media be like reading American or western media promoting western interests, presenting one sided and biased views that are mainly negative and hostile to China and China’s interests? It is understandable for western media to do so as they have been ruling the world for the last few centuries and what is right to them but bad for others are blinded to them. The constant narrative that colonialism and imperialism, western dominance and violence against the rest of the world is their normal and unquestionable truth. Is it objective reporting of news or is there a hidden agenda, a hidden hand to deride China and the rest of the world as the norm?
How would such articles be viewed by the Chinese who are obviously monitoring them and studying them closely to take stock of the thinking of the Singapore leaders? Is this good for Singapore China relations?
The govt has been telling everyone that Sino Singapore relations are very good, and Singapore is neutral vis a vis the Sino American rivalry for world supremacy and influence. Singapore has also repeatedly been sending high level delegations to China to want to establish more and better commercial and political exchanges and cooperations and these can only be fruitful if the Chinese did not have doubts in Singapore’s sincerity and neutrality towards China. If the Chinese perceive that the negative verbiage in the main media is intentional or officially sanctioned, then all the efforts and money spent sending delegations to China would be a waste of time and futile.
The Chinese are not stupid and our boys and girls must not take them for granted. If Singapore wants better relations with China, wants to participate in the BRI and jump on the Chinese economic bandwagon, the last thing it should do is to curb the spread of negative articles that put China in a bad light in the main media. The daily hammering of China is NG, no good for Sino Singapore relations. It stinks and smelt insincerity and duplicity. How could Sino Singapore relations move forward, to a higher level when this is going on in broad daylight almost daily? Would the Chinese fail to notice the kind of signals in the main media and happily work with Singapore in joint projects in the BRI or in other parts of China?
The big question is why is this allowed to go on unabated? Is it in Singapore’s interest? Or is Singapore being armed twisted by the Americans to go on painting China as the bad guy in the local media? These negative articles of China without questioning the wrongs and evilness of the Americans and the West are targeting which audience? What is the intent and purpose of looking at China from the American and western perspective and interests? The American dominance is waning and no longer the American law of the jungle rules. A new balance of international order and power is in the making and it is to Singapore’s interest to understand this reality and act and behave like it said, neutral to the powers in rivalry for world dominance.
Why would reading the main media be like reading American or western media promoting western interests, presenting one sided and biased views that are mainly negative and hostile to China and China’s interests? It is understandable for western media to do so as they have been ruling the world for the last few centuries and what is right to them but bad for others are blinded to them. The constant narrative that colonialism and imperialism, western dominance and violence against the rest of the world is their normal and unquestionable truth. Is it objective reporting of news or is there a hidden agenda, a hidden hand to deride China and the rest of the world as the norm?
How would such articles be viewed by the Chinese who are obviously monitoring them and studying them closely to take stock of the thinking of the Singapore leaders? Is this good for Singapore China relations?
The govt has been telling everyone that Sino Singapore relations are very good, and Singapore is neutral vis a vis the Sino American rivalry for world supremacy and influence. Singapore has also repeatedly been sending high level delegations to China to want to establish more and better commercial and political exchanges and cooperations and these can only be fruitful if the Chinese did not have doubts in Singapore’s sincerity and neutrality towards China. If the Chinese perceive that the negative verbiage in the main media is intentional or officially sanctioned, then all the efforts and money spent sending delegations to China would be a waste of time and futile.
The Chinese are not stupid and our boys and girls must not take them for granted. If Singapore wants better relations with China, wants to participate in the BRI and jump on the Chinese economic bandwagon, the last thing it should do is to curb the spread of negative articles that put China in a bad light in the main media. The daily hammering of China is NG, no good for Sino Singapore relations. It stinks and smelt insincerity and duplicity. How could Sino Singapore relations move forward, to a higher level when this is going on in broad daylight almost daily? Would the Chinese fail to notice the kind of signals in the main media and happily work with Singapore in joint projects in the BRI or in other parts of China?
The big question is why is this allowed to go on unabated? Is it in Singapore’s interest? Or is Singapore being armed twisted by the Americans to go on painting China as the bad guy in the local media? These negative articles of China without questioning the wrongs and evilness of the Americans and the West are targeting which audience? What is the intent and purpose of looking at China from the American and western perspective and interests? The American dominance is waning and no longer the American law of the jungle rules. A new balance of international order and power is in the making and it is to Singapore’s interest to understand this reality and act and behave like it said, neutral to the powers in rivalry for world dominance.
12/02/2018
Celebrating Our Seniors
Masters Athletics have an eventful packed year in 2019
2019 would be a very eventful and power packed year for masters athletics in Singapore. There will be road runs, relays, cross country races and athletic competitions locally and overseas to keep them very busy running for the whole year.
The first event to kick off would be the Singapore Masters Athletics X Country Run/Walk/Relay at MacRitchie Reservoir on Sunday 3 Mar 19. This would be closely followed by 3 events in a weekend.
3 May 19 – Singapore Masters Athletics 40th Anniversary Track & Field at Toa Payoh Stadium
4 May 19 – The first South East Asia Masters Track & Field Meet also at Toa Payoh Stadium
5 May 19 – the Singapore Masters Athletics International All Comers Meet also at Toa Payoh
And on 6/7 July the SMTFA is also organizing its first Track and Field International Championship in Singapore. Active Singapore would also be holding its annual track and field event at end of July and beginning of August.
This is not all. There is a major event in Kuching, Sarawak, the Asia Masters Athletics Track & Field Meet in December to end the year. There are also several road races/relays and cross country being held through the year.
The toughest period for masters athletics would be the May weekend. From the point of a sprinter, if a masters athlete is to participate in all 3 Meets during that one weekend, he would have to run at least 8 races, including heats and relays. This is very punishing. Normally 3 races would be about the max for a senior masters athlete.
In the World Masters, the timing of a masters sprinter in one event eg 100m, with heats, semis and finals, would fall rapidly over the 3 days. It is thus near impossible for any masters athlete to run 8 sprint races over 3 consecutive days. I am attempting to run on two of the Meets but have no confidence to run well the next day. That is how bad it is on the legs.
With the ministers and the politicians everyday talking about living well and living healthy, keeping fit, ageing gracefully, would they be supporting such masters athletic activities and making them part of the national campaign of promoting healthy ageing? Or would they ignore these programmes because they are not organized by the govt?
It would be great for all the senior community associations and clubs to bring their seniors to watch and celebrate how other seniors compete in these races and show them what are still possible despite the age. The races would be a great motivation and encouragement for the doubtful, that they need not live a sedentary life just because of old age. This could be a national event and festival for the seniors if the govt/PA or Activesg could put their acts together.
Grace Fu could make this as big or even a bigger event than the fighting diabetes thing that is going on. Or perhaps Gan Kim Yong and Amy Khor could join forces to pitch this as part of their well meaning health campaign for the seniors.
2019 would be a very eventful and power packed year for masters athletics in Singapore. There will be road runs, relays, cross country races and athletic competitions locally and overseas to keep them very busy running for the whole year.
The first event to kick off would be the Singapore Masters Athletics X Country Run/Walk/Relay at MacRitchie Reservoir on Sunday 3 Mar 19. This would be closely followed by 3 events in a weekend.
3 May 19 – Singapore Masters Athletics 40th Anniversary Track & Field at Toa Payoh Stadium
4 May 19 – The first South East Asia Masters Track & Field Meet also at Toa Payoh Stadium
5 May 19 – the Singapore Masters Athletics International All Comers Meet also at Toa Payoh
And on 6/7 July the SMTFA is also organizing its first Track and Field International Championship in Singapore. Active Singapore would also be holding its annual track and field event at end of July and beginning of August.
This is not all. There is a major event in Kuching, Sarawak, the Asia Masters Athletics Track & Field Meet in December to end the year. There are also several road races/relays and cross country being held through the year.
The toughest period for masters athletics would be the May weekend. From the point of a sprinter, if a masters athlete is to participate in all 3 Meets during that one weekend, he would have to run at least 8 races, including heats and relays. This is very punishing. Normally 3 races would be about the max for a senior masters athlete.
In the World Masters, the timing of a masters sprinter in one event eg 100m, with heats, semis and finals, would fall rapidly over the 3 days. It is thus near impossible for any masters athlete to run 8 sprint races over 3 consecutive days. I am attempting to run on two of the Meets but have no confidence to run well the next day. That is how bad it is on the legs.
With the ministers and the politicians everyday talking about living well and living healthy, keeping fit, ageing gracefully, would they be supporting such masters athletic activities and making them part of the national campaign of promoting healthy ageing? Or would they ignore these programmes because they are not organized by the govt?
It would be great for all the senior community associations and clubs to bring their seniors to watch and celebrate how other seniors compete in these races and show them what are still possible despite the age. The races would be a great motivation and encouragement for the doubtful, that they need not live a sedentary life just because of old age. This could be a national event and festival for the seniors if the govt/PA or Activesg could put their acts together.
Grace Fu could make this as big or even a bigger event than the fighting diabetes thing that is going on. Or perhaps Gan Kim Yong and Amy Khor could join forces to pitch this as part of their well meaning health campaign for the seniors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)