Hsien Loong – Spore to learn from China

China has been learning from Singapore for the last few decades and has surpassed the master to go on to become the world’s second largest economy with modern cities cropping up all over, each one bigger than Singapore. It is time the master learns from the disciple that learnt his lesson well.
 
But there is one thing that China had failed to learn, would not learn and would learn only to its detriment, that is the Instant Tree strategy or Money can buy anything to solve problems. Singapore has excelled in the application of this strategy to solve all its problems. It was even suggested to bring the World Cup home by using money to buy a team of world class footballers. Anything that can be solved by money, can be bought by money, is not a problem.
 
We bought the best talents from all over the world to fill up the vacancies in top jobs that we could not fill. We brought in academics from the best universities in the US to fill up a university and more universities. We fill up all the vacancies with people from across the world. It is like planting trees, instant trees. Any barren stretch of land, parcel of land, can be turned into a garden or tropical jungle within a matter of days by filling up with instant trees of choice. It is a matter of time when we buy a PM from overseas if we can’t find anyone better here.
 
Just cannot imagine China adopting this policy of Instant Trees with money. If China would to do it, China could have bought up all the super talents in the whole world with its war chest. But China would have a problem with its more than 1 billion people and would not be able to turn them into billionaires and top scientists and engineers. Their citizens will have to return to farming, be poor peasants once again,
 
Conversely, can we learn this Instant Tree strategy from China? We may have all the money, but not everything can be bought or should be bought. China knew about this great strategy of ours but refused to adapt it. China could have solved its corruption problem if it applies this theory of money can buy anything, including civil servants and political leaders that would not be corrupt. There will be no corrupt leaders and civil servants in China, as clean as us, corruption free. But China would not be as rich and prosperous as it is today if it simply learns and copies everything we do. It would not have enough money to pay their officials and leaders to be not corrupt. It will be a China with foreigners running all the businesses, as CEOs, and Chinese as workers everywhere.
 
Would Singapore learn from China, to use its indigenous citizens and not be dependent on foreigners? Probably not. There are just no local talents except in politics.

Kopi Level - Green

MAS – Another tragedy

Another MAS B777 plane crashed in Ukraine killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. This time there was no mystery. It was likely to be shot down by the forces fighting in the area. This is like lightning striking twice, a series of bad luck hitting MAS.
 
MAS’s image is going to be hit hard this time through no fault of theirs. Maybe they should stop flying across Ukraine, do a diversion from the war zone. Maybe get the bomohs to pray and drive the bad luck away.
 
Another sad story and many people hurt and grieving.

Kopi Level - Green

How to unscrew a bad image?

The PAP’s image has taken a big hit with its handling of the CPF money. Netizens are making all kinds of suspicious and derogatory remarks of the PAP and forming a very negative impression of what it is doing with their money. Yes, it is a perception, but it is a very bad perception that the PAP has to live with. Can it ignore such a perception and think that everything will be fine and the next GE will just be fine without doing anything to clear the damaging image, without correcting the impression?
 
Here is an example posted by a blogger in TRE,
 
• pioneer_generation:
July 11, 2014 at 8:21 am (Quote)
 
The PAP just cannot keep their grubby hands off any money belonging to the citizens. The excess premiums are desperately needed to make up for all their poor investments and losses after being cheated and easily swindled by the banks, crooks and sweet talkers. They are like little spoilt children in a toy store. I want, I want,I want…… without ever to have to pay for it. Now they find the cupboard bare, so they have to retain the citizen’s CPF, rob their medisave funds and sell them grossly inflated HDB flats to make up the shortfalls. We are really in a fix! Fixed by the PAP! We have to unfix ourselves by kicking them out so that later generations can have a fresh start. Never again should we give any political party unlimited and uncontrolled power. After all they are only humans. They cheat, lie, screw around like anybody else.
 
The strong words used and the thinking behind the words speak a lot about what the blogger thinks. And if more and more people are thinking this way, PAP will have a tough time living it up and living up to this image.
 
How would the PAP’s PR team tackle this adverse publicity and a perception that will be costly if not explained away? It would take a very stubborn or confident PAP to think that they can live with it and continue to do as they think right, be like deaf frogs and keep on climbing up the mountain, ignoring all the noises from the lunatic fringe. It will take a very brave man, or a very stupid one, to think all is fine. Just keep delaying the return of the CPF money under all the good and caring excuses. Just keep loading up on the premiums for the Medishield Life for all contingencies and for the rainy days of tomorrow. The people will understand and accept them quietly like in the past and will keep on voting for the party and all its good policies.

Kopi Level - Green

Lawlessness in Singapore

An angry driver cut into the path of a public bus in the middle of the road to block the bus. The driver came out to challenge the bus driver but in vain as the latter remained in the bus. Oops, he was trying to sweet talk the bus driver to come down to have a friendly chat in the middle of the road. He must be influenced by the kindness movement. Failing in his attempt to woo the bus driver, the angry driver then stood there, made a phone call, left the car stranded, and waiting for the sun to set.
 
Later the police came and told both parties ‘not to breach the peace’. It was reported that ‘No further police action was required’. So, what did that mean? The angry driver was told to move off and all back to normal? Our police officers are so civil and polite, another sign that the kindness movement is getting its message to the people, including the police. This is the new way of handling angry people in a first world country when kindness is the order of the day. Be very nice. Little India? Nice rioters? Police cars burnt, kenna bokok bokok nevermind.
 
Can a driver simply park his car in the middle of the road? Can a driver block the path of a public bus at his own fancy? No offence? The police that came did not see anything wrong? They did not bother to inform the traffic police of any offence, or they did? If anyone thinks there is an offence they should take the initiative to report to the traffic police. It is not the duty of the normal police officers to deal with a traffic offence or violation or disrupting traffic, only if threatening peace? I stand corrected as the police officer present could have taken down the particulars of the angry driver and passed it to the traffic police to follow up.
 
Maybe the police is right. There is nothing to it. Just like the angmoh cyclist stopping in the middle of the road to threaten a woman driver. This is the new kindness movement. There are all trying to communicate to one another in a better way. No offence, no one is hurt. No traffic offence also. This is the new normal. Everything is fine. Everything is so nice, everyone is so nice.
 
This is the new paradise. Who is complaining about lawlessness?

Kopi Level - Green

The chances of Singapore repeating what it achieved in the last 50 years are zero.

This was what Kishore said in his article last Saturday, and a forumer by the name of Yeoh refuted this in the ST yesterday. In Yeoh’s view, Singapore is just beginning and there are many more good years to come, and Singapore will only get better.
 
I must disappoint Kishore and agree with Yeoh on this. Singapore can only get better with the Gov’t’s policy of meritocracy and bringing all the best talents in the world to be here. In the last 50 years we achieved with no talent or daft Sinkies to become a first world country. Now, with the Govt opening the door to all the talents, how can we do worse than before?
 
Is Kishore saying that this open door prostitution is bad and a wrong policy? Is he saying that all the foreign talents we brought in will only make Singapore worse than before? Cannot be, right? With so many talents here, especially the best from the 3rd World, hungry and willing to work harder, and are bragging how good they are and how they sacrificed for coming here to help us and not their motherland, Singapore can only prosper and get better, in leaps and bounds. Even if we don’t have faith in these fake or funny talents, surely we must have 100% faith in our super talents paid in millions to bring us up another level right?
 
Unless Kishore knows something, that these talents are fake talents, useless bums that would only bring us down, then I can agree with him. There is really no future with so many fakes here, or is there?
Who is right? What do you think?

Kopi Level - Green