George Yeo – One Belt, One Road for everybody

At the FutureChina Global Forum held here yesterday, George Yeo said and I quote, ‘China’s One belt, One Road policy holds  immense promise of benefits for many countries, although there are bound to be many complex challenges before it takes off – not least the Western world’s lack of understanding of the plan.’  George Yeo is being so polite. He surely must know that the Westerns are no idiots and would know the benefits this China policy could bring to the countries within the belt and road. The objections by the Westerns were never about the benefits but about their lost of power and influence to China. They are objecting to it just like they are objecting to the AIIB for their own political and economic interests.

Yaseen Anwar, a Pakistani American banker adviser to the Industrial and Commercial Bank put it more directly, ‘They view it as a threat. “You are now making a power move against me, so I’ll oppose the AIIB.”’ This is further collaborated by George’s comment that if China were to pull the One Belt, One Road policy through, ‘it’s going to change the geoeconomic, geostrategic map of Asia.’  Whether China likes it or not, intends for it or not, it will increase its influence in world affairs that would mean a relative decline in the influence of the West. One thing for sure as mentioned by Li Cheng, director of John L Thorpton China Centre at the Brookings Institution, ‘China benefited from the international system…(and) has no interest to challenge the existing international system.’

The Western Powers cannot accept the new reality, that they are no longer the only One calling the shot even in Asian affairs. They must and will do everything to disrupt and derail the AIIB and this One Belt, One Road policy that would benefit the Eurasia countries. That is the realpolitick of things.

There is no need to be sheepish and to apologise to the Westerners for this China initiative. Just do it and lump the Westerners. They cannot be controlling and meddling with the affairs of Asians and to decide what is good or no good for Asians. The Asians must have the confidence to do what they think is good for their own interests. They have to change their colonial or West is superior mindset. They have to stand up and take their place in the world stage as equals to the West, to decide their own future, free from western domination and control. But some are very happy to remain under the rule of Pax Americana.

How to con the daft people

I will use a simple example to illustrate how easy it is to con the daft people. As Sun Tzu wrote, know your enemy know your strength, winning is assured. Take the case of education, knowing that the daft people are all for glory, to be Number One for the right or wrong reasons,  and better still if this can be bought by money, just sell the glory to them. You can find it in many fields. Let me show you how it can be done.

Tell the daft people you can make their universities ranked among the top universities in the world, practically for free.  Whatever that means, no need to bother with the cost and returns and any adverse consequences. And tell them with a little effort their universities can even rank higher than Cambridge or Harvard, you can put them into your pocket. But don’t tell them there is no free lunch. They did not know there is no such thing as free lunch although their idol founding father had told them many times. And to tell them that they could get it for free, my goodness, you can literally see their saliva turning into ponding.

The method is like this. Tell them to subscribe to your ranking system. Tell them it is an internationally recognized system, reputable some more. And if their universities are ranked among the tops, it is something to be proud of, very prestigious, never mind if the students turned out to be duds, unemployable. That is the students’ problem, not your problem.

Once they are sold, tell them to hire foreigners, at least 30% or more, to give the universities an international feel and look. Foreigners are always seen as better than the daft locals. The grass is always greener over the fence. Then tell them to bring in foreign students also, 30% or more the merrier. Con them to believe that with the presence of foreigners, somehow their students would become smarter or appear to be smarter and the universities will somehow become better or more reputable. And the universities would also be more desirable.

When they swallow this line of conning, they would go back and do all the silly things without thinking. They would sack their own citizen lecturers and hire foreign lecturers at higher pay to turn the universities into foreign universities to serve foreign interests. Never mind, it is OPM. And if their citizen lecturers lost their jobs, tell them they are not good enough and they themselves are to blame. See, providing employment to foreigners against the interest of their citizens they would also do.  Maybe they also think that the country belongs to the whole world, so what is the problem of the universities belonging to foreigners. Whose money is being spent to feed the foreigners, who cares? Then 20 years forward, they would find out that they don’t have local talents in the universities like in the banking and finance industries. Then they will start to talk about planning ahead for a citizen core like real.

What about foreign students? Who cares? As long as they are good for the university’s ranking, if no foreign students want to come, they would use taxpayer’s money to pay for the foreign students to come. And they would not even spare a thought at the thousands of places they are snatching away from the children of their citizens. As long as the university ranking is high, they would claim they have achieved something, done well, for who never mind. Our universities are world class.

The net effect would be the hollowing of local lecturers in the universities and many children of the citizens being deprived of university places. And the foreigners will be laughing themselves silly for the easy money they are getting. Where in the world got govt allowing universities to pay, train and nurture foreigners using tax payers’ money? How would all these affect the interests of the citizens is of no concern. And they may even put up letters by grateful foreign lecturers and students saying thank you for their generosity in their notice boards. And these daft would be so elated, feeling so good that the foreigners really appreciate what they have done for them, throwing money at them.

See the recipe for the daft? Daft people easy to con or not? It sure works one. For the sake of a little superficial glory, they would do anything, sacrifice the interests of their citizens and use the taxpayer’s money with no qualms about it. The citizens, the parents and students craving for a place in the universities can cry their hearts out, who cares?

See, under my watch the university is world class in ranking! Paid for by OPM. The trick is to look for a silly country to put this into practice. Which country in the world would allow this to happen? Which country’s top academics would be silly enough to be conned by this formula? Can it really happen?

The above is of course a fantasy. It would not happen. It can’t. Top academics and govt leaders are all top talents and would not dare to waste taxpayers’s money on foreigners at the expense of the taxpayers for a cheap glory scam.

An easier method would be to follow what the football leagues are doing. Buy up top universities and change their names to the name of the country buying it. Instant world famous universities!

Redbean Soup all orders sent out

Hi all,

I have sent out all the books and everyone should receive them by this Friday or earlier. For multiple books for local addresses, you will get your book one at a time but not on the same day.

Anyone who did not receive the book by this Friday please let me know.

Thanks again. Still some books available.

Redbean

Yellow ribbon for Roy Ngerng, No?

How many of you have heard of this thing called Yellow Ribbon that people wore on their chests to show how compassionate and merciful they were towards ex criminals? They want to give the ex criminals who have paid their dues a second chance, and rightly so as many are not hard core criminals that would return to their crimes again. Let them return society, give them a job to be responsible and respectable people again.

I heard Roy Ngerng is still jobless one year after he was sacked by the hospital for defaming the Prime Minister. Why is Roy having such difficulties finding another job? He is not qualified, no good, lazy, did not want to work? Or he is unable to compete with the hoards of foreigners that are more talented than him? Roy is a young man, not the middle age PMETs and not demanding an unaffordable salary. Why is he still unemployed?  Or is Roy being ostracized, discriminated, by who?

Roy did not commit a crime and is not a hard core criminal. Neither is he a recalcitrant. He made a mistake and he apologized, and would be paying for his mistake. Would anyone who ever wore a Yellow Ribbon think Roy should be given a second chance, just to be employed? Is Roy unemployable?

Yes, why is Roy unemployable? No employer dares to employ him? No second chance? Are the inhabitants of paradise inhuman that no one is willing to help this young man to get a job? Or should Roy enroll in the NTUC e2i course to make himself competitive internationally so that he can find a job overseas? Is Roy being condemned for his mistake for life?

What do you think?

Scholarship for foreigners – How many and how much have been spent?

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The annual number of scholarships awarded to international students at the undergraduate level has come down in recent years. Since 2012, about 900 such scholarships are awarded each year.

The scholarships include school fees, and typically include accommodation and some allowances. The annual cost per scholarship is about $25,000 on average.

The questions were to get an update from data I had obtained when I first entered parliament. In January and February 2012, MOE had revealed then that it awards 170 and 900 scholarships at the undergraduate level each year to ASEAN and non-ASEAN students respectively, making a total of 1,070 new international scholars a year. Budget per scholar then was between $18,000 and $25,000 a year….

At $25,000 per year per international scholar and with a scholarship lasting typically 4 years, the annual budget on international scholars would be $25,000 x 900 x 4, giving a total of $90 million a year (this figure excludes the amount spent on pre-tertiary and post-graduate scholarships, as well as that spent on tuition grants). The expenditure on an international scholar would be $100,000 over the 4-year time period to obtain his/her first degree. I believe this figure excludes tuition grants of typically $10,000-$20,000 per annum per student which almost all international students will get.

The above was from a post in the TRE titled, ‘Review scholarship framework for Intl Students’. Heng Swee Kiat was reply to Yee Jenn Jong in Parliament on the number of scholarships that were given to foreigners. The numbers given were sketchy and neither here nor there. It would be good if Heng Swee Kiat could provide a comprehensive picture of the number of scholarships given out in the last 20 years and the amount of money spent for the people to understand whether there is any problem on this generous offer by the govt. The statistics should include Asean and non Asean students, from secondary to post graduates. And if scholarships are given to primary schools as well, then it should also be included, though I think this is not the case. There should be a breakdown as to school fees and living allowances including accommodation.

The figure will give the people a good feel of how much have been spent on foreign students and a comparative data on the number of govt scholarships given to Singaporeans in the same period. The minister can also explain the objectives of this generous offer, what the govt tries to achieve and how effective is the result. Please explain to the people why spending so much money is for the good of Singaporeans and how it benefits the Singaporeans.

Please also explain why taking away a thousand places annually, or more before the cut back, from Singaporeans to give to foreign students is good for Singaporeans.

Another question to ask is whether spending so much public money needs the approval of Parliament or any minister is good enough to authorize such expenditure? What is the approval limit of a minister without having to go through Parliament?

PS. The Singaporeans, especially the parents, and the undergrads of non nobles and aristrocrats would be wondering how the money spent on the foreigners could benefit them and other Singaporeans if this scheme is scrapped altogether, or if we are to do charity, let it be on a more humble scale that is more akin to the thinking of peasants. The generosity of nobles and aristocrats in spending public money is difficult to accept by the workers and peasants who would love to have a bit of it to make it easier on their pockets.