the singapore paradox

lee hsien loong said those who voted for the opposition in the last general election also voted for the pap or wanted a pap govt. this is a paradox in the words of mahbubani. actually there are two paradoxes. those who voted for the pap also voted for the opposition or wanted an opposition. singapore politics is strange and unique. next time our ballot paper can have a third box for those who wanted to vote for both parties instead of spoiling the vote.

sands from las vegas

saw this little cartoon in the straits times today. yeah, no need sands from malaysia. we are having all the sands we want, direct from las vegas. : )

candid goh choktong

Jun 24, 2002 Now in his 11th year in office, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is an economist by training and a politician by choice. Recently, he has been forced to defend the powerful Lee family: Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew; his first son, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong; second son, Lee Hsien Yang, CEO of Singapore Telecom; and Temasek Holdings Executive Director Ho Ching, Hsien Loong's wife. Breaking with precedent, Goh discussed the family's hold on business with Singapore Bureau Manager Michael Shari on May 29. .... And the most often-heard criticism of Lee Kuan Yew is that he is chairman of the Government Investment Corp. of Singapore, and that the GIC's rate of return has not been exactly stellar in the past few years. When I took over as Prime Minister [from Lee Kuan Yew in 1990], I appointed him as chairman [of the GIC]. Do we have a better man than he in giving good returns on GIC? The answer is no. Is the management the best in the world? I think the answer is probably not. Is it the best fund manager in the world? I don't think so. Is it the worst? I don't think so. the above is an extract of an article posted in YPAP forum. what i find interesting is the last para on the part of GIC and its performance. choktong said it is not the best and also not the worst. what he said is that it is average or somewhere in between best and worst. he is being so honest and frank.

the ageing classes

As one gets older, the discrimination of class gets more apparent. The majority of the senior citizens fall into the senile and dementia class that needs to be helped and protected under all kinds of govt schemes. And as this class grows in size, the govt will have to continue with more schemes and keep scheming to look after their well being. Then there is another class that will live in posh retirement villas in resort islands. A variation of this maybe in nursing homes with basic facilities. Then there is the upper class or distinguished class which a writer, Dinesh Senan, wrote about in the Today paper. This is a class of ever wiser and continuously growing smarter talents that gets more valuable over the years, like fine wines. And if Dinesh has his way, all these greying talents should be elevated to a Council of Elder Statemen to help run the country, provide advice and vision for the younger leaders or act as mentors. And why not, they have all the useful and valuable experience that should not be put to waste. The only concern is whether their pension of 2/3 their last drawn income will be enough to keep them comfortable and not force them to work to earn extra income? That will be tragic. Or maybe in addition to their 2/3 pension they can still draw a salary commensurate with their talents and experience in life. That should not be difficult. And think about it, at 55 or 60, they still have another 20 good years to serve the nation. Who says at 55 people will be senile and cannot think and need to be protected by the state?

money everywhere, billions everywhere

Now this is quite a tidy sum of money to improve communications with all the govt agencies. It will make SMS such a wonderful and convenient tool to use. Everything at the finger tips. What about those without a mobile phone or those who cannot afford a mobile phone? Yes there are many people who cannot afford mobile phones though there are many who can afford 3 or 4 phones. Reading the stories in the Sunday Times last week revealed a big section of the population that are still living in poverty and such luxury and convenience of SMS or having Tvs on the MRT are things that they can do without. Would it be nice if the $2 billion be put into the pockets of those children who are in dire need for some pocket money for food and education instead of making SMS more convenient or more beautiful parks and walkways? A comprehensive assistance plan should be worked out to improve the lives of these underprivilege people, not piece meal donations. They need help, and even prolong help until they complete their basic education. If the nation can afford to throw away money for the frills, to have beautiful parks and for the dogs and poo as well, why are we neglecting living people who have a life to live? Where is our priority? We can be charitable to plants and parks and keep improving on systems, even making our fingers to do the work instead of walking or running around, but we left our underprivilege to defend for themselves. Can we be nicer to these people and let them have a little nicetices of life?