Major cabinet reshuffle

As anticipated, Lawrence Wong, with his new mandate, would be rearranging the pieces in his cabinet. How many old furniture would he removed and replaced by new furniture is now a new topic for discussion. There are many reasons, including international issues that would necessitate such a change.  CNA has a piece on this new development and below are two positions that have been put forward.

'That said, some portfolios may remain untouched despite long tenures, particularly in “specialist ministries” such as trade and industry, foreign affairs, law and home affairs, said Mr Malminderjit Singh, managing director of Terra Corporate Affairs.

Among the current batch of Cabinet members, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has been leading foreign affairs for 10 years and Mr K Shanmugam has been overseeing home affairs and law for 10 years and 17 years respectively.'

This position states that many old furniture are indispensable and cannot be touched or removed because there is a lack of talent in the cabinet and no one is good enough to replace the incumbents. They are as good as being there for life. Maybe should bring in some new citizens that are more talented in the next GE.

A second view, below, disagrees.

'Singapore Management University’s law don Eugene Tan said the reshuffle would be major, as Mr Wong would want to show the depth of talent within the ruling party.

“Most of the 4G are not ‘his’ people. They all came in at about the same time," Assoc Prof Tan said. "There will be a focus from PM Wong on appointing people at the junior ministerial levels, where they would get their first POH appointments in his tenure.”'

Lawrence Wong would want his own trusted comrades to work with him, men and women with similar ideas and viewpoints, not prima donnas or those with contrarian views that would make his job difficult. Also, there is a need to rejuvenate and bring in new blood and new ideas. Old furniture may be too stuck with old ways and need to be moved aside.

It is a dangerous thing for anyone to think he is indispensable or to think that no one is good enough to take over his job. If an oncologist is good enough as a defence minister, an eye specialist as a foreign minister, anyone is good enough for any ministry in politics. In politics, a politician is an expert in anything without the need for any special training or life long training. The training is on the job.

What is the right fit for a political appointment is not academic or professional training and qualification. The expertise of a ministry is derived from the professionals and experts in the respective ministry. The minister needs a good and clear thinking head and a lot of wisdom to make decisions from the advice of his staff.

The house is set for many furniture to be moved, removed and replaced with new furniture to give it a breath of fresh and nice smelling air.

Made in China is quality and luxury! Made in China has arrived

  For a long time, the Americans and the West have been sneering and attacking China and Chinese goods as copies and of poor qualities. This did not disturb China and China continues to work to improve its products and making many products and brands world class, unbeatable that the Americans and the West are openly showering praises on them. Chinese electric cars are now acknowledged as world best even by American and western car makers. Chinese EV batteries are unbeatable, the best of the best that many American and European brands are using EV batteries from BYD and CATL, including Tesla cars.

DJI drones are the best in its fields, both commercial and military drones. The American military forces are also using DJI drones instead of American made drones. And DJI commercial drones are so good that Ukrainian forces are buying and modifying them for military use. DJI is also famous for its camera jig stabiliser and this is in demand by all Vloggers and movie makers. Not only that, DJI cameras are highly sought after equipment. Yes, Chinese cameras, including those used in all Chinese mobile phones are better than the Japanese. Insta360 X4 is the ultimate Vlogger's action camera in the world.

There are many Chinese made products that are now world best, eg solar panels, high speed trains, bridges, port cranes, tunnel boring machine, big ships, containers, now war planes and warships. 5G/6G are undisputed world number one without any challenger. Oh, as for mobile phones, the West only has Apple while China has Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo that are as good as Apple. 

These Made in China products have gained recognition and acceptance for their quality and performance. The other big array of Chinese products that have gained acceptance as good quality products are electronic and household appliances. America is the biggest laboratory to test these products by the Americans and after more than 30 years of usage, they have grown accustomed to them and gladly accepted them as good products Made in China. Every American household is filled with Made in China products.

Now Trump has delivered China a big gift in his tariff war with China. China has decided to do a complete break with the American economy, complete decouple. As such, China does not need to protect the American and western lies that their luxury branded goods are Made in Italy or France when they are all Made in China. China is exposing this big lie and telling the world, the consumers of branded luxury goods that what they are wearing and carrying, quality handbags and apparels, are all Made in China. China is good enough to make all these goods and have been making them for years to happy and satisfied customers. Made in China is now a major manufacturer of quality luxury goods.

What could happen following this development is that Made in China is the real thing, the good stuff. Either they could continue to make these luxury goods with Chinese brands and boldly embossed Made in China on them and selling them at more affordable prices. The luxury brands may come to terms with China, continue to make their items in China, and embossed Made in China on their branded items, without having to lie to their customers that they were Made in Italy or France. This would be a win win for customers, OEM China and the luxury fashion brands, except that the profit margin may be lower for them, while the Chinese manufacturers, now recognised officially, could get a better deal for their craftsmanship.

The fashion and luxury goods world would not be the same again. Made in China will gain acceptance as quality stuff. Latest, Rolex also admitted they were Made in China. Just think about this, the sales volumes are so huge for Rolex and luxury goods, how many manpower, man hours would be needed if they claimed every piece is handmade and each piece takes days to make?

The latest India Pakistan war blows up in the face of French jet manufacturer Dassault for claiming that the Rafales were world best, costing more than $100m a piece but easily knocked down by China's US$50m a piece J10 C. All the western and American myths and lies are falling into pieces. The buyers are feeling very stupid for paying so much for the hype and all they got were lemons.

No need to spend tens of thousands for a luxury bag or watch. No need to spend billions for AI. No need to spend billions to buy junk weapons from the West. China is offering a better and affordable alternative. This is what the American trade war is all about, China cannot sell cheap and good stuff to the world. The Americans said. They must buy American junks and pay through their noses.

Scott Bessant heard that China was having a meeting with EU and begs for a side meeting. China did not go there to meet the Americans

 Scott Bessant had all along been commenting, almost on the verge of tears, that it is up to China to de-escalate. Did China start the tariff war? No! All China now wants is for the USA to remove those tariffs before talks can proceed. I hope China does not relent on its stand in Switzerland. If that condition is not fulfilled, I think the talks will be fruitless.

Scott Bessant did not answer the question of who called who for the meeting. He has no cards to play and no room to lie anymore. If he claims that China called to set up the meeting, he is bound to face the consequences from the Chinese side, who may not want to talk to him in Switzerland by lying. Neither can he tell everyone that it is the USA that called China first. Trump is trying to be tough by saying that he is not going to reduce the tariffs against China. Trying to pretend to be negotiating in a position of strength has never worked against China. How is that going to have any chance of success at the talks in Switzerland is something I am beginning to wonder?

The story told by Scott Bessant was that the Chinese were in Switzerland, probably building bridges as usual and the USA heard about it. How co-incidental that the USA was also going to Switzerland, the right place and the right time to meet the Chinese. Think about it!

This claim of the USA meeting the Chinese for the 'first time' blew away all the lies by Trump and his administration over the weeks, claiming that they were talking to the Chinese. The Chinese categorically denied such talks ever happened. Now, who had been lying all along is not hard to figure out.

That also brings into focus the claim that 200 countries out of 195 in the world are queuing up to kiss Trump's arse according to the administration. Sometime lying has to have some semblance of credibility, and the 200 countries plucked from the air tells the whole story of how blatant the USA can lie. Scott Bessant also revealed a pertinent point about the most important country missing from the queue - China is not looking to negotiate.

Anonymous

J10 C reputation and sales soar

Shooting Down Five is Enough, More Would Be Escalatory

According to the military spokesperson, the aircraft shot down included three Rafale jets, one MiG-29, one SU-series aircraft, and an Israeli-made Heron combat drone. The jets were downed in multiple locations, including Bhatinda, Jammu, Akhnoor, Srinagar, and Avantipur.

“The Pakistan Air Force engaged these aircraft only after they carried out attacks on Pakistani territory,” DG ISPR said. “Their aggression targeted the territorial integrity of Pakistan and endangered civilian lives,” he added.

The military spokesperson added that while Pakistani forces had the capability to strike more than ten aircraft, they chose to exercise restraint.

He further said that armed forces responded to Indian airstrikes in a “measured and defensive” manner, asserting that the response was carried out in self-defence and without violating Indian airspace.

Pakistan Deputy PM Confirms Using Chinese J10-Cs

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly that, using Chinese J10-Cs, the Pakistani air force had clear instructions: only shoot down any aircraft that drops payloads.

“If we hadn’t shown restraint, we could have brought down 10 to 12 Indian jets,” he added.

The Chinese J-10C jets, already drawing interest from multiple countries, are anticipated to see increased global demand.

In contrast, India is facing considerable diplomatic and military challenges as a result of this setback.

Shares of Dassault, the manufacturer of the Rafale jets, have sharply declined due to India’s recent military failures.




Impressive Pakistani Air Display Boosts Global Reputation of Chinese Defense Technology
Shares of China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation have surged Wednesday following Pakistan’s recent downing of five Indian Air Force fighter jets. The company, known for its advanced J-10C fighter jets that are vital to the Pakistan Air Force, is gaining renewed attention in the global defense market.

In response to Indian aggression, Pakistan successfully shot down five Indian aircraft, including three Rafales, with some targeted by the J-10C jets.

This impressive military display has attracted international focus on China’s defense sector, significantly boosting the company’s stock performance.

Analysts indicate that the success of the Pakistan Air Force not only thwarted Indian military efforts but also bolstered the global reputation of Chinese defense technology.


Anonymous

Singapore political system another casino?

 The total amount of deposits forfeited in the 2025 GE is $364,500. This works out to be more than $10k per opposition candidate. The total cost to a losing candidate that lost his deposit would be at least $20 per head to participate in the election. And this does not include the time and other resources needed, the hard work of campaigning and walking the ground.

What is the motivation of these candidates to work so hard, to pay so much to run an election when the chances of winning is very slim? Are they doing it for altruistic reason, for Singapore, to serve the people? These are very honourable goals for the candidates to pursue, selfless and big sacrifices.

From another angle, it is like going to the casino to place their bets. The winnings, about $200,000 per annum for 5 years as an MP, ie about $1m in rewards. $20,000 bet for a million is better than the winnings in a roulette table that pays 1 to 36. If they can make it to be a minister, that is where the jackpot is. Looking at the CVs of most of the candidates, other than business owners, barely a handful would be able to make $500k a year.

The winning ratio would be much higher if placing the same amount for a Toto bet when the winnings could be $5m or more. No need for all the hard work and walking the ground and to put up a smiling face to all the hoi polloi.

To many of the candidates, throwing down $20k or more for an election is not a small sum. For the political parties, losing the deposit of a GRC is $67,500 each. They need deep pockets to finance such enterprise. Hopefully they are getting sound financial support from their supporters.

Would the opposition parties continue to come back every GE to place their bets and be willing to lose their deposits again and again? Would they continue to make sacrifices to serve the people and country?

Perhaps the payout should be tweaked so that there will be less punters trying their luck in future GE. After all, $200k for a part time job is a huge sum of money for the punters. Very likely 90% of Singaporeans could not earn $100k a year in full time jobs, and 70% of Singaporeans are earning less than $70k working full time.

And MP job is only part time and still earning big money in their full time occupation. If the fly by night punters find the payout is not enough for their trouble, they may not want to risk $20k running for an election. The GE would then be contested by people sincerely wanting to contribute to the nation's well being.

What do you think?