Imagine 1955 - We were still a colony of the British Empire

 In a few days we will be celebrating 60 years of independence as one of the richest states in the world. Can you imagine what your lives would be like if it were 1955, when we were still a colony of the British Empire? We will not be celebrating our freedom and independence at the Padang, but will instead be celebrating the coronation of King Charles or the British Empire, raising the Union Jack and singing God Save the King.

Imagine all the officials at the steps of City Hall would be white men, British, in their Sunday best and their ladies with funny headgears, overseeing a parade of British subjects marching before them, saluting to the British governor of the island state, and calling every white man, Sir, and every white woman, Ma'am, instead of saluting to our President and PM.

Imagine the highest standard of education of the population would be Senior Cambridge Standard Nine, and the highest jobs one aspired to would be a chief clerk in the colonial office, a clerk in a lawyer's office or maybe a cook in the British military bases in Alexandra, Sembawang or Seletar. 

Imagine many of our womenfolk would be maids working for the British NCOs and their families while many men would be labourers, coolies, stevedores in the Singapore Harbour Board?

Imagine, other than a few towkays that made good being the early migrants, could afford a few bungalows and driving cars, because of trading, while the rest of the people were riding bicycles or taking buses to work?

Imagine all the makeshift hawker stalls along the streets, the pushcarts, the tents of hawker stalls along Eu Tong Sen Road, the original people's park?

In Malaya in the north, every Sultan would have a personal assistant called District Officer, a British officer, who would assist him in the running of the states, and the words of the District Officer was as good as orders from the Queen, to be obeyed. Imagine the British owned all the rubber plantations, tin mines and big businesses, and there would be cries of Tuan, Tuan in the sight of the white men?

Something similar also happened in Indonesia but the rulers were the Dutch. In India, ruled by the British East India Company, they were called Sahib, Raj or Sir by the Indian subjects.

In Hong Kong, all the big businesses have British names. The highest rank for the Hongkies in the Police Force was Sergeant or Station Inspector. Only white men could be Inspectors, Superintendents or higher, same in Singapore. And Ah Sir here and Ah Sir there, stuffing money into the white men's pockets and smile when they smile, smile when they get angry, smile when being scolded or kicked around.

Imagine all the concessions in China with foreigners owning pieces of territories calling their own, using their own laws that were above Chinese laws, and poverty everywhere, no industries, no jobs?

Imagine, many ex colonial people of the European Empires, especially those in Singapore and Hong Kong, would still like to be ruled by the British all over again, and to call them Sirs?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this is 2025.

Trump pushing India into the arms of Putin

India's about turn regarding purchase of Boeing planes and opening up its agricultural sector punctures Trump gloating about his big, beautiful tariff agreement (unsigned by the way) and all his winnings. Everything bites the dust.

The bigger slap must be about India telling Trump it is not going to stop buying Russian oil, which constitutes about 35% of all India's needs. That is a massive sacrifice for discounted oil that India cannot do without. To add insult to injury, India is going to continue to buy Russian weapons as well that Trump had been trying to wean India away. Now, the picture is clearer regarding India's support for Russia's economy and war chest. There is no way that the USA can also force China not to buy Russian energy.

Now Trump is threatening China and India and those still buying Russian oil of a 100% secondary tariff if they do not stop buying Russian oil. The oil market will see oil prices hit the stratosphere if that move is successful, affecting even the USA itself.

Trump can threaten BRICS with a 1000% secondary tariff, but that will be academic if countries just sell less to the USA, just like what China is doing. There is a much bigger world to trade with for BRICS countries, and the USA is not the center of the world in global trade unlike in the past. That is now history, and Trump can threaten BRICS all he likes. He is actually punishing his own USA citizens, the ones who voted for him. If the USA citizens are as dense as we assume, that is just too bad. The world will just move on without the USA and having less problems to deal with a rogue state.


Anonymous

Trump and America are all about lies. How can anyone trust Americans?

If exposure on social media throughout last year is true, Trump is rotting inside physically and outside mentally. Many said that he smelt like a shithole and are using some orange and yellow stuff on his body to musk the stink. That is a sign of rotting meat.

I think Trump's physical is even worse than Joe Biden. Physically Biden's dementia is due to aging, not about other diseases eating away his body. Do not believe those health checks being done. The USA and its medical bodies can lie through their teeth like everything else, just to make Trump sound perfectly healthy. It is all a charade. Doing something truthful and someone on the top would be sacked, just like the labor chief giving the truth about the employment situation and getting the boot.

Trump is always asking Jerone Powell to resign because Powell he does not toe the line by cutting rates. On the other hand, I think Jerone Powell should be asking Trump to resign for dismantling and destroying the USA piece by piece. The tariff fiasco is going to cost Trump even his job.

As I understand, Trump is spending hundreds of millions to tear down the Rose Garden to build a 'Golden Ballroom' for his gloating. I guess that is where all that money collected from his tariffs are going to end up. The elephant in the room is that no one is talking about it. Some USA citizens do bring up the issue, saying that the White House Offices belong to USA Government and was built for Presidents, past and present. It is not for Trump to tear down sectors of the White House just to suit his agenda. For a dictator to do that is acceptable.


Anonymous

India does not have great leaders to lift it up, only talkers and braggers that have nothing to their credits

Bigger population for a richer but smaller country like Germany or Japan might sound more realistic for dividend reaping. Having said that, both Germany and Japan are now sliding down the economic ladder too, so it is difficult to be generalizing. Circumstances can change.

For a poor country like India, it is a big liability to say the least, by having a large expanding population. India has not solved its poverty problem by any stretch of the imagination, so adding more people will test its employment and job creation agenda. Jobs, and I mean good paying jobs must be created in order to lift people out of poverty. If not, children born into poverty will never rise beyond the situation of their parents. This is a chicken and egg problem for India, and I think one solution is keeping the population increase as low as possible. But who am I to say such things when the experts have different views?

India does have great thinkers in the ancient past, and recent past as well, but most have either migrated and what is left are bottom crawlers from inside the barrel that has led India into what it is today. Just look at the state of its ministers, from top to bottom, that are hardly worthy of mention.

I have been thinking about how India could produce such profound philosophers like Siddhartha Gautama (the spiritual teacher who later became Shakyamuni Buddha) that Indians themselves refused to acknowledge for all his brilliance. It was left to the Chinese, Japanese and South-East Asians to realize the brilliance of the Buddha's teaching.

Even Albert Eistein thinks that Buddhism is the only scientific 'religion' in the world, and its teachings stand up to dissection and scrutiny that other religions failed to do so. In actual fact. With due respect to Einstein, Buddhism is not a religion in the true sense, with no God, but a philosophy.


Anonymous

Cambodia turning towards USA?

President Donald Trump is being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Cambodia for helping to avert a deadly war in the region.

Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol announced the decision on Friday, citing Trump's role in halting the deadly war between the Southeast Asian country and Thailand. Daily Mail

Many speculations on the Thai Cambodia border skirmishes have been reported trying to fish out who actually started it. Some claimed it was the Thai, while some claimed it was the Cambodians. Whatever, some parties are very happy to ignite this conflict in peaceful Southeast Asia, hoping that it would blow up and create another area of instability in the region. Fortunately sensible leaders stepped in to snuff out the flames. 

ASEAN Chairman Anwar Ibrahim was busy holding meetings with the two sides and ended having them shaking hands and temporarily hold them down to an immediate ceasefire. Anwar's role is obvious to everyone in the region, with photoops as well. But credit was stolen by Trump who claimed credit for the ceasefire. Cambodia, instead of thanking Anwar is now nominating the war criminal Trump who is continuing with his genocide in Gaza for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump was instrumental in the ceasefire sitting in the comfort of his office in Washington, with a phone call, and not Anwar who was running around like a bull's arse fly with no recognition?

The actions of the Cambodia is raising question as to who started this conflict and where is Cambodia's alignment. Cambodia has been saved from destruction by China, China was the sole benefactor for building up what Cambodia is today, and is still pouring money into Cambodia. Why is Cambodia cozying up to the Americans? The second point of interest is the release of the taped conversation between Hunsen and Paetongtarn that led to her downfall. The Shinawatra family and Hunsen were very closed, family friends. Why would Hunsen do this to bring about the fall of Paetongtarn? Why would Cambodia, a relatively much weaker country, dared to start a body conflict with its much stronger neighbour?

There is absolutely not reason for the Shinawatras to turn against Hunsen. Thaksin was Hunsen's adviser and close friend and stayed in Cambodia for a long time. The only possible reason is that some foreign intelligence reports were offered by a third party to Hunsen to insinuate that Thailand had bad intention. The evidence could be fabricated but someone in Cambodia chose to believe in the misinformation and used it to create mistrust and to sour the relations of the two sides. This is standard American practice that they used against the Arabs and ASEAN countries. All it needs is a few influential parties in the country that stand on the side of the reports, believing in the reports and convincing others that the reports are true. And you will have trouble instantly.

Hunsen and Cambodia's behaviours are highly suspicious and controversial, as good as betraying his good relationship with Thaksin. Why? Who is behind all these misunderstandings or provocations? 

China has to be very careful with Cambodia and where it is heading. Very likely there is a mole in Cambodia, very influential, to incite this incident. Would Cambodia turn into another ungrateful beneficiary of China, turn against China in due course?