general election : prelim round 4

the general election mood is here. a lot of ground work and footwork were done over the chinese new year. the pap must be very confident that they have done well and will continue to do well in the general election. lets try to pry into their thinking cap and see what were in their minds. 1. economically they believed that they have done exceptionally well. and this is supported by all the economic data that were released recently. gdp up, export up, manufacturing up, national reserves up, unemployment down, more surpluses to give away. the people must be very happy and satisfied with the govt. 2. $1 billion will be given to the 240,000 marginally poor. they too must be very happy. and having 240,000 marginally poor families are acceptable in a rich and prosperous country. nothing wrong with it. maybe give them a little more if they cry louder. there are plenty of money to go round. 3. the people will be very grateful with the $2.4 billion upgrading plans and a better east coast park. better facilities and the contractors will have more jobs to do. 4. a big pay rise coming. starting with the president. and the people will all be very happy that the president shall get $2.5 mil for this very important job. the people will not mind. after all, all civil servants can expect something since the president has started the ball rolling. and the higher the appointments, naturally they will get more. this is the nature of things and singaporeans are all very happy about it. 5. nkf. no problem. all very well managed. see, the fees are coming down. more patients will benefit from it. and now better management and transparency. it is a good job and the people will forget about the whole episode come election time. 6. peanuts? what peanuts? no body remembers a thing. 7. medical fees, hdb flats, buangkok, all resolved. no problem at all. mrt fee hikes? very good, mrt makes a lot of moneyfor the shareholders. that is business, to make money. 8. withholding of cpf and increase in medisave contributions. singaporeans are rational people. they will listen to the govt. they know all these were done for their own good. they will secretly thank the govt for keeping their money. 9. corporate failures and corporate governance. small things. does not affect the people. only some directors were affected. but everything will go on as normal. 10. stockmarket is going up. people must all be making money in the stockmarket. so people must be happy. they must be many people rushing to open trading accounts again. people are bullish and confident again. well, everything seems to be well under controlled and well managed. a sweeping victory is expected. and the opposition is still not able to present more credible candidates. and worst, their manifesto is already a poison and a timebomb. the people will be wise to see that and vote for pap. the majority vote will increase, and thats for sure. all the grass root leaders are working hard and the feedback received have been very encouraging. the people are all behind the pap.

singapore, what's next?

Lee had anticipated more qualified Singaporeans joining opposition parties to challenge the PAP after he's gone.... Speculation abounds as to why Lee is keen to remain in control. One theory is that he first wants to see the 18-month-old leadership under Lee Hsien Loong firmly settled in.The first priority: To ensure that he gets a strong mandate.Lee's presence is assuring to the younger leaders as the PAP faces one of the strongest election challenges for decades. Lee may be reluctant to let go for fear that if he does, the Singapore that he helped to create will slide. This partly stems from the fact that he has such a high assessment of good leadership that few people can fit in.... He sees the need to free up on Singapore so that it can become a creative world city, but the steps taken have been relatively few and small - insufficient to make a major impact.The general thinking is that as long as he remains in the government, the Lee Kuan Yew era looks set to continue, irrespective of who the prime minister is. His mere presence in the Cabinet will tell Singaporeans they can expect no major political change within the ruling party. Everything will be played according to what is set out - at least for a few more years. Jon Huer, a professor of sociology (University of Maryland University College Asia), said the post-Lee era is fraught with uncertainty."After Lee dies, Singaporean stability and dynamism may encounter turbulence, as Lee's larger-than-life dominance of Singapore may leave a void that no successor can fill."That means trouble. Voices demanding change may rise, and the harmony and peace among different ethnic groups that are so uniquely Singaporean may shatter. (This article was published in The Sunday Star) by seah chiang nee. when lee kuan yew and his bunch of innocent and inexperience young men took over singapore, there was literally a dearth of local talents that could run the country. keng swee, raja, chin chye and himself were as fresh and brash as undergrads. but they pulled it through, learning and experimenting as they went along. but the basics were right. for the people and for the nation. today if we fear that there will be a dearth of talent, it is a bad joke. 40 years of nation building, at least 30 batches of the best brains were educated and trained overseas and have all the years to learn the ropes. if these bunch are useless brats, then singapore has failed and will be doomed. it will be the greatest failure in leadership. there is no denying that there are many able people, very talented, that will be capable to take over the reign of singapore. their only shortcoming is that they will not run singapore the way lky ran it. they are not lky. whether that is good or bad is a matter of perception. there will be trouble too. and trouble from having too many good brains who want to build their own empires. there will be more contest for leadership and how to run the nation. it definitely will not be a case of a dearth of talents.

chinese new year: a tradition, a culture, a way of life

happy chinese new year. this phrase will punctuate all conversations for the next few weeks. it is a time to offer your blessings and best wishes to family members, friends and acquaintances and all. happy chinese new year. it is just a wish, a sharing of good will. have a good time, bon voyage, good luck. etc. chinese new year is a time for such trivials. but there are other things as well. family reunion, giving children a little hongbao for luck, for a good year, for growing up. everything is spruced up for a bright and good start for another year. a time to take stock and to prepare to live life again. why are the young people lamenting that chinese new year does not mean that much to them anymore? time changes thing. we grow older. our little childish enthusiasm of a time of plenty during the new year, seeing many happy faces, rousing gatherings, money to collect and spend, goodies around have all been left behind. we grow up. the young men and women are in a transitional phase. they have so many things to occupy their time and attention. chinese new year is just another event that competes for their time. they have time to go to parties and enjoy party gossips chatting on anything and everything meaningless and say they have a good time. but doing the same things among family and relatives are...yak, boring and distasteful. lifestyle has changed. the older folks who have less things to do, may treasure the chinese new year as a time to see how the seeds they have planted have grown, and planting new seeds. it is a time for reflection, a time for satisfaction or a little disappointment. but if all things are not measured in material things, the oldies will find a lot of comfort in the new generations and their new future. not everything in the chinese new year tradition will be treasured or valued, or retained with the passing of time, and lifestyle changes. but some little things will remain forever. some traditions will be kept and some will lose their fascinations. i have earlier written about the hongbao being too expensive for many. and about hongbao becoming jinbao. expensive wedding dinners will, i think, lose its attractiveness when it will burn a hole in the guests' pockets. sending an invitation to a friend and knowing the pressure he will face to dig deeply into his pocket will eventually make inviting people to a wedding dinner too demanding a friendly gesture. a time will come when the party handing out the invitation cards will be told to get lost. and it will be a good thing if wedding dinners are reserved as a family affair and among very close friends. the chinese new year will go on to be celebrated but differently. maybe it will be commercialised and make to be cool one day.

scenic bridge or cynic bridge

the people who came out with the new name to replace the crooked bridge must be applauded for their ingenuity. and they cannot escape the brilliant mahathir who instantly recognised what they meant. all said, mahathir has not lose his sense of humour by jumping onto it first. ha, scenic or cynic, he asked.

hsien loong's new year pledges

reported in the paper that hsien loong pledges to review policies on public housing, public transport and medical fees. unfortunately he is only referring to the older folks. i hope hsien loong will take this opportunity to make a thorough review and introduce changes take will benefit the whole nation, especially the lower income groups, rather than just the older folks. this is the time for him to make a real difference, to turn around some of the errorneous policies of profit comes first and people suffer never mind. many of the presumptions and policies of the pap were totally out and he is the man to make the change. but if it continues the way it is, support for pap will only go one way. and while he is reviewing the $1 bil assistance for the lower income, he should also consider all the mothers and grandmothers who are technically unemployed but actually gainfully employed in looking after babies and little ones, and without income but a little allowances. they should also be considered together as those who are employed and earning less than $1,000. will hsien loong make the difference?