crooked bridge: lets be good neighbours

badawi has confirmed that the half bridge will be built. it is in their interests. they know what is good for them. let them build the bridge whatever way they want it. lets be good neighbours. we shall not engage in any dispute or hot headed argument over the bridge. we shall not make a protest or take them to the international court. we shall not make any comment in response to johore mp shahrir samad calling us stubborn. we shall not even reply to him to explain who is stubborn. we shall just keep quiet and let it be. and we hope by doing so, giving them our blessing, they will leave us alone and build their bridge.

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?

charity organisations: top exec salaries no need to disclose

the inter ministry committee has introduced a series of measures to improve corporate governance in charitable organisations. and these include not insisting on the disclosure of the salaries of the top 3 executives. why is it that the salaries of the president of singapore, the prime minister of singapore and the top civil servants are disclosed but not charitable organisations whose income comes from donations? practically all civil servants or public officers' salaries are known to the public. there is no reason why the top executives of charitable organisations be an exception. there is every reason for this to be transparent. it is not tax payers' money. it is money given by the public for a generous activity and accountability in the use of such funds is that more important and necessary. why should the top executives of these organisations be uneasy in disclosing their salaries? is it because they are ashamed that they are overpaid? or they are ashamed that they are underpaid? if the former, then more it should be disclosed. if the latter, then don't call it salary. call it an honorarium, if that makes them feel more comfortable. people working in charitable organisations must expect their salaries to be reasonable, maybe competitive but definitely not excessive or be paid very well compare to money making organisations. their organisation does not make money and are not supposed to make money.

GONG XI FA CAI

a new year greeting to all my contributors, visitors, guests and all my friends. Wishing you Happy New Year !! Must be happy!! For the past one year, if I offended anyone, please forgive me. I am still gentle and nice, so don’t be angry with me.

crooked bridge is a blessing

let's count the blessing from the crooked bridge. 1. it takes away the grouching and bitching between the two countries. let them build it and be happy. they have to appease their own people. and we need not finance a bridge that we do not want. 2. probably they will have to terminate the railway at jb. the train can't possibly climb the crooked bridge. we can then join up with our mrt, maybe under the causeway if it is demolished. 3. a good tourist attraction for both sides. 4. the cost of paying new toll may persuade casual singaporean visitors not to go in unless it is worth the trip. this will help to ease the jam. 5. hopefully when the malaysian side raise the toll fee the singaporean side will not do so as the cost of the bridge is borne by malaysia only. but singapore side can charge a fee for a view of the infamous bridge.

general election : tanjong pagar is the weakest grc

in my opinion tanjong pagar is the weakest grc in this election. though lky is the stalwart and the grand old man in the constituency, his strength is now his weakness. the older generation of voters are now either gone or disinterested. too old to be bothered. the younger generation is a totally different game. no care for old senior politicians. their perspective is totally unfathomable from the old mindset. koh boonwan may be a good support to carry the constituency. but the nkf will do him in. and his strength could not balance off the negative weight of lky in the constituency. everyone would like to see lky as the president to guard the national asset, not as another mp. his role as minister mentor? well, this is seen in many ways. the pap may think it is a good thing. but will the people think so? i think if i gather a good team i should be able to win tanjong pagar today. haha, what a dream! but i think if the opposition put up a good team and fight tanjong pagar on the merits and achievements of lky and retire him, they will have a lot of listening ears. never fight tanjong pagar to discredit lky. fight tanjong pagar with the good deeds of lky and win. what a contradiction! what a paradox!

general election : prelim round 3

the response by sylvia lim to pap's attack is very sensible and reasonable. and she puts it across in a very pleasant manner. i think all politicians shall learn from her on how to communicate gentlemanly or lady like, with respect and courtesy to the other party. nothing condescending or intimidating. her defence is also very tactical. let pap sets the agenda. but wp will also set its own agenda. this is like the calling by some quarters that elite schools must play football, a game which they have conceded as not their strength, as the game is their strength. the elite school shall play whatever games they are strong in and choose to play. so in politics, same method. you hit me at my weak points. i siam and hit you at your weak points too. not that i cannot engage in a full discussion. i choose my battle ground, my time and what to fight and my agenda. so it is likely that pap will be shouting about poisons and time bombs and the opposition too will be shouting the same thing but of different nature and characteristics. i don't have to play football if i am not good in it. the show is warming up.

now i know why singapore is a racist country

one forumer wrote to the straits times relating how he was accused of being a racist in singapore. he is a chinese belonging to the majority. he told one guy to stop smoking in a queue for taxi. instead of snubbing out the cigarette the smoker, who was a minority, shouted at him that he was a racist for telling him to stop smoking in the queue because of his race. in another incident he shouted at a cyclist to prevent him from hitting a pedestrian. he was accosted as a racist for shouting at the guy because he was a minority. our fragile race relations can be easily torned to pieces, not by the majority bullying the minority but by the minority bullying the majority. and it is so easy to call the majority racist. what would happen if the snatching of body incident in malaysia is reenacted here and involved the majority against a minority? hell will break lose.

general election : preliminary round 2

the wp's manifesto is perceived as poison, timebombs. wp responded by shouting undemocratic. what are the issues and why? wp sees the grassroot organisations as a political tool and wanted them remove. this includes the grcs and the presidency as well. the pap counters by saying that wp is trying to undermine social cohesion. who is right or telling the truth. both are right from their perspectives. no one can believe that wp would want to create racial strife. they are just calling for the removal of organisations that would give them a disadvantage in the political contest. but pap chooses to see it differently and call it differently. the counter blow of calling pap undemocratic is in response to the call/advice or demand by pap to change wp's manifesto. to pap, it is just an election tactic. they talked down to the wp like a school master. you change or else. this puts wp in a dilemma. they cannot change for doing so will immediately be recognised as a defeat. not changing will put them in a position like they are threatening national unity or worst. is wp's defence on the ground of undemocratic justifiable? can a communist party put up a manifesto for communism be allowed to contest? or can a socialist party put up a manifesto that resembles communism be unconstitutional? or can any party put up any manifesto and be disqualified to contest? who is the final arbiter to say whether the manifesto is acceptable to the people?

the road to mediocrity

for many years we have been relentless in the pursuit of excellence. that is the drive that pushes this little pimple ahead of many countries. today it seems that this zeal to excel is seen as wrong. the champions must not be champions. the road is too tough. slow down, compromise, take the easy way out. or try not to work so hard, play more. this kind of mentality is best seen in khoo swee chiow's personal quest. the mount everest climb. no body would argue, is a tall order. then the antartic etc. but when he dipped inside a bath tub, that was very disturbing. is singapore heading in the same direction? the next national goal shall be 'fly the biggest kite.' not try to outdo bill gate or be an einstein. at least we get mentioned in the guinness book of records. on the other hand the poor country called china is producing nobel prize winners. all their students in our local universities are tops in their cohorts and are 100% nerds. no time to play or even leave their dormitories. maybe this is a bad thing in singapore. we have arrived and can afford to go slow. it is all a matter of choice and personal sacrifices. you want to be good in anything, you pay the price to be good. you want to be mediocre, you pay the price to be mediocre. if one chooses to be a jack of all trades, and be happy with it, good. if one chooses to be a champion gymnast and start to train at 3 and ended up stunted in growth, that is a decision to be made. why complain about individual choices? just because some people wanted to play football and enjoy themselves others must also be forced to play ball with him?

islam under attack in malaysia?

the recent furore in malaysia and the petition by the non muslim ministers is seen by the muslims in malaysia as an attack on islam. is that so? what about the seizure of the dead bodies from their families by islam? why is this being ignored or accepted as the norm of a civilised secular state, or even a modern islamic state? from the non muslim perspective, it is the encroachment of islam into their lives. it is islam that is threatening the privacy of non muslim citizens, not the other way round. but the clerics, the fundamentalists, will claim it as otherwise. it is their right and duty, in the name of islam, to push aside the non muslim private lives and sensitivity. islam is above the law. islam is the law. this is the sign of a fundamentalist islamic state in its infancy.

smrt profit up 36%

third quarter profit of smrt rose by 36% over the same period last year to $30 mil. well done smrt. big bonuses coming up. the brilliant management must be thoroughly rewarded for such a sterling performance. they must have improved a lot on their services and other revenue generating projects and decisions. i am very sure the great improvement in profit is not due to the increase in commuter fare. thank you commuters for your contribution.

education and personal fun

there were complains by parents that top elite schools did not play football. the reason given by the schools is that they excelled in other areas and football is not their cup of tea. this is what i think a reasonable answer. but no, it is not acceptable. the reasoning is that the elite school students must play football to socialise with the non elite students. is that a good reason? the next reason is that the parents want their children who enjoy playing football to play them at the school level, for fun. now, is that another good reason? for fun they can play any where, can't they? schools, and independent schools, yes independent, must be allowed to think independently and do what they think is good for their students. it is their choice to allocate time and resources to what they do best or want to do best. what's wrong with not playing football? there are many other ways and opportunities to socialise with the non elite students. or why can't the non elite students socialise with the elite students in activities that the elite students do? why is the onus or burden be on the shoulder of the elite students? or is elitism bad? if bad then we should not promote elitism. make everyone average and happy playing football. or shall all the elite students pierce their ears or roam orchard road because the non elite students do that, and get the chance to socialise and understand them better? smoke like them and dress like them to be like them? for those parents who want their children to have fun playing football, send them to the football fields anywhere or in the hdb courts and play lah. why must insist that the school provide for them? the school don't provide then cannot play?

nkf reducing dialysis by $4

gerard ee announces that dialysis fee will now go down by $4 and another $8 later. total reduction over the last few months came to an overall reduction of 25%! what does this mean? the patients were paying so much more unnecessarily due to nkf's inefficiency or what? the monthly expenditure for a patient is $2,730. this will be reduced eventually to $2045. but still a huge sum for any poor bugger or even not so poor buggers. and to qualify for partial subsidy, the cut off household income is $3,500. without going into details of how much is partial subsidy proportional to income less than $3,500, lets look at those whose household income is above this magical number. and assuming that this is nett and not before cpf reduction. technically, a patient with $3,600 will be disqualify from subsidy and has to pay the full amount of $2,730. what is left of the $3,600? $870!!! even with a household income of $4,000, the disposal income left is only $1,270. almost 3/4 of the household income for dialysis. that is what people think a kidney patient deserves to live on, or his family deserves to live on. is that mean? and they have mean testing to ensure that this is so.

general election : preliminary round

the pap is still throwing their punches on the wp's manifesto. boon wan has come into the ring and hit at the same points. what is the wp doing? are they going to parry blow by blow? or are they taking the side step to evade the blow and taking aim at what they think will be better openings that can knock out the pap? not standing to take blows and trade blows is one tactic to adopt. but looks like wp is doing the cowboy way. stand and take the blows. and i would presume they will throw their punches while absorbing the pain. this could be the wp's strategy, knowing that pap will hit at their weaknesses, they might just take a few punches but attack the pap with more of pap's weaknesses. and at the end let the judges count who score more hits. now lets see where the wp will hit and how many punches it will throw.

general election : my manifesto version 1.01

1. we will turn singapore into a global city of the future with standards of living better than the swiss. 2. housing. our motto is to strive for talents and we reward talents. our talents will live in landed properties or posh condos. those not talents will live in 2 and 3 room design and build flats. 3. quality living for the talents. the most talented can look forward to a lifestyle of the rich and famous, with all kinds of resorts and entertainments and the world class theatres to watch phua chu kang. 4. we will not forget the poor. we will provide them with budget facilities including budget transport system and budget foodcourts. 5. medical facilities will be the best. and we will make sure that every citizen will have enough in their medisave to pay for it and no one will be deprived of treatment. 6. education. we will have the best fuzzy education system designed specially to fit every student. they can take a 10 year course or a 20 year course at their own time as long as they can afford the fees which will be affordable. 7. high income for the talents. talents can expect incomes in the millions. no talents will also be looked after by the govt's generous billion dollar welfare schemes.

horie's pursuit of profit goal

"The sense of ethics is crumbling to a crisis level," Eda said. "The government must take these cases seriously.".... PURSUIT OF PROFITS Prosecutors say Horie and three other executives who were also arrested had sought to boost share prices by spreading false information, issuing new shares to "acquire" firms already under its control and then selling them for a profit to pad its books.... Horie said in his Web diary on Sunday he had no recollection of doing anything illegal... The Livedoor case has prompted calls to beef up Japan's securities watchdog, as well as laments about the unabashed pursuit of wealth for which Horie was well known.... "The Livedoor shock has poured cold water not only on stock prices, but on Mr. Horie's often-emphasized view that money is everything," said an editorial in the Mainichi newspaper. "We should not pursue fleeting profit. We should take Mr Horie's arrest as an opportunity to think about this."... Horie has many fans, especially among a younger generation who admired his innovative tactics and flashy lifestyle, and some saw his arrest as a reprisal from the "Old Japan" establishment which he had snubbed. A dropout from the prestigious University of Tokyo, Horie set up Livedoor's predecessor, Livin' On the Edge, a decade ago with just $50,000 in capital. By adopting an aggressive acquisition strategy and promoting himself as a brand symbol, he turned that into market capital of more than $6 billion just before last week's raid. the above are extracts from reuters business news about the japanese wonder kid who rose to fame and fortune and now is under police custody. many of the facts and things said are very familiar. i believe he will have many admirers here.

general election : fight on 4 issues

the wp comes out with a 52 page manifesto. the pap chooses 4 as time bombs and cornered the wp to fight on these 4 issues. for the moment the pap is taking the initiative to launch an assault at wp, especially at the two leaders low thia khiang and sylvia lim. would the wp be cornered and let the pap set the agenda for the fight? eng hen challenged the wp, lets fight on these 4 issues. very neat. surely the wp is not going to confine itself with just 4 issues. there are hundreds of issues to be debated. how wide will the battlefield be? given the resources of the pap and so many ministers still in the background, waves of attack can be expected to follow suit. there will be increasing pressure with more coordinated atacks as the election approaches. the campaign trail has started, sooner than the announcement of an election. is it a good thing to start the fight so early? would the issues be talked to death and people be bored by the time the election actually started? sometimes harping on issues too early and too often may lose its novelty and impact. would it be better to throw them out hot in the midst of the election instead of discussing now when the election could even be delayed to god knows when. the date has yet to be fixed. lets hope the contestants will fight fairly and not hit under the belt. lets hope the issue will boil and be properly fried during the actual election campaign.

general election : factors favouring the opposition

below are my initial take on what may favour the oppositions? 1. need for change. too many things have been taken for granted by the ruling party that they no longer appreciate their significance. these include the intangibles that are not talked about but kept within the hearts. 2. high salary. the recent increase to the president's salary will send more votes to the opposition. this is a clear sign of how insensitive the ruling party has become. 3. cpf retention. no one knows how strong is the feeling of dissent over money retained in the cpf. 4. nkf. it is generally seen as a govt's problem and failure. and the associated events have many unfavourable implications against the ruling party. 5. foreign talent. another issue that digs deep inside the electorate but not well articulated to appear as a serious problem. but it is a serious problem that cannot be swept under the carpet. 6. hdb. the pricing of hdb and the declining value of ownership is gaining importance as a source of grievance. 7. transport fares. this issue seems to be underestimated by the govt and may cost a lot of votes to land on the opposition's lap. 8. unemployment. includes those who are displaced from well paying jobs and ended in low paying jobs. 9. erosion of moral authority. the casino will lose votes from the diehard moralists. and the exposure of several flawed personalities among the elite have shaken the faith of many strong believers.

general election : factors favouring pap

with the approaching general elections, it is time to kopitiam talk about the fight for power and the who and the what of the election. lets start with a preliminary take of the position of the ruling party and the opposition. i will like to touch first on what favours pap in the general election? 1. track record. some people are happy with what pap has done and think this is good enough. 2. opposition weakness. if the opposition cannot present good and decent candidates in the eyes of the electorate. 3. organisation strength. grassroot and party organisations and membership. 4. finances. pap has superior finances to run the election campaign and to finance the candidates, including deposits. 5. grcs. the opposition will have problem fielding enough candidates to contest in grcs. 6. promise of goodies and handouts. 7. the candidates are mostly known. the party is known. all its goodness and warts. more predictable for those who fear to thread on uncertainties. 8. intangibles. favourable things that are difficult to describe or quantify. this is possibly the strongest unaccountable factor that the opposition will have to contend with but with no replies.

education: fuzzy logic or delusion

i read with some concern at the views being promoted recently and the changing mindset of administrators and students and the public. what they want is for a students to do everything, be a sportsman, be a businessman, entrepreneur, social worker, inventor and also do well in their studies. for a student to be able to do all these, they are either geniuses or little gods. a little experience and exposure here and there other than the main task of building a strong academic foundation are good and welcome. but to over emphasise the secondary and good to know things at the expense of the core knowledge acquistion function is very dangerous. a student must be firstly a student and must do well in his studies. for those who are able to and can afford the time, go and do whatever they want. but do not compromise on your basic role as a student. do not compromise on your first class honours. in a free environment, a few geniuses will shine. but many pseudo geniuses will waste away, fooling themselves. a real genius will thrive in any situation, in any environment. the dismissal of our inability to produce world beaters is all bull. very shallow thinking. our lack of world beaters is a result of our small critical mass and the short time span of our existence. and also, the brightest were channelled to adminstrative functions and the govt. what is really needed is the allocation of talents to where it is needed. if we want scientists and inventors, put the best brains there. what A star is doing is the right thing. there is a chinese saying, 'nian chuan bu nian gong, hou lai yi zhang kong.' what it means is that if one is training in martial arts, learning the moves without training the basic physical strength, eventually is worthless. education is the same. the acquisition of knowledge, technical knowledge, cannot be abandoned for foolish things like trying to be fun, to be a businessman, to excel in sports, all at the same time. know one's own limitation and endowment. if one is so talented or gifted to do all things, thank your parents for the good genes. if one is gifted to be an einstein, don't try to be a tiger woods. likewise tiger woods would not try to pretend that he can be an einstein or vice versa. lets not confuse fuzzy logic with delusion.

temasek not selling singapore assets - dhana

for a while i was nervous. natsteel was sold. so was raffles hotel, cias. then dbs building. then what? the istana? it is good that dhana confirmed that temasek is not going to sell local assets for overseas investments. it reminds me of how aw cheng chye sold his father's bank to wee cho yaw. selling inheritance by a prodigal son is a sure sign of things going wrong. let's hope we don't see anymore selling of our national inheritance and national heritage. it is like selling our souls. the chinese saying, selling 'peh kong giap,' or the created wealth of fathers and grandfathers.

general election : my manifesto

let me suggest what i think should go into a manifesto. 1. fairer distribution of wealth to the people without undermining private enterprise and entreprenuership. 2. depoliticising of govt and non govt organisations. 3. make the presidency an honourary position. better still to do away with the presidency. a president is dysfunctional in the face of a rogue govt, like it or not. a rogue govt can change the constitution or even remove the presidency at will. 4. govt policies must be citizens first. 5. fine tuning of cost of essential services to alleviate the plight of the lower income segment of the population.

general election : a manifesto in question

first eng hen fired the first shot by declaring the wp's manifesto as a time bomb. then hsien loong followed by telling thia khiang to have it modified. the election battle has started. the pap's position is national interest in terms of racial harmony and questions the wp's objective through it's manifesto. should the wp change its manifesto because hsien loong suggested so? doing it will be admitting defeat at the first salvo. if not, is it able to defend its objective for racial harmony? their approach may be different, but the objective for racial harmony cannot be compromised. would the wp be able to explain how they are going to achieve this from what they have proposed? if it is just a different approach, then it is acceptable. but if what they proposed will eventually lead to a breakup of our social cohesion, they will have problems convincing the people to follow them. from my interpretation, what they have suggested are not workable. for this i agree with the pap. the impression i have is the lack of a clear thinking process in coming out with the manifesto. and if it is going to cause harm, they have lost the battle from the start. it is a pity that wp does not have strong thinkers who can come out with pragmatic policies. ideals are ideals and must be backed up with workable actions. i hope they can explain the hows. they need many explanations to do. the politics of today is not the politics of the animal farm. you cannot run away without the intellectuals providing the ballasts. the legs are not good enough without a thinking head.

kan seng apologises for cops

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Saturday apologised for the way the police overreacted to a group of school girls' plan to sell and wear white elephant T-shirts at the opening of Buangkok Station. The white elephant cut-outs had become such icons that a group of Raffles Girls School girls planned to sell T-shirts with their design, and wear them at the opening of the Buangkok Station. But not everything went as planned. The police advised the organiser to apply for a permit when they found out that the proceeds were for charity. For this, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who's also the Home Affairs Minister praised the police for being flexible and helpful, and the students for their creative plan and sense of humour. But Mr Wong was disappointed the police had clamped down on those wearing the T-shirts for fear that doing so in large groups may be "misconstrued by some as an offence".... Mr Wong said the police may have overreacted on this, but there were also other instances where the police were criticised for not doing enough to check overly exuberant behaviour. One example was the use of foam sprays at the Christmas Orchard Road Party, where some young women were blinded and then molested by some men. Instead of clamping down on the use of foam at the New Year's Eve party the following week, the police adopted a softer approach, by appealing to the common sense and cooperation of the public. Police also warned that if the foam spray was used to commit a criminal act, such as molest, the offenders would be arrested. DPM Wong said: "The recent episode at Buangkok showed how difficult it is for police to act. On one hand they have to maintain law and order and public interest, on the other hand they have to consider that society changes all the time and they have to continue to open up and liberalise some of the rules that we have in place." But Mr Wong stressed, that in so doing, the ultimate interest must be that of Singapore's, and not just specific groups or individuals. - CNA/ a little discretion will go a long way.

april 1 comes early

sunday morning is a time for a little senseless digression. it is good to read of laughters and applauses in the sunday times, during speeches by koh boon wan and ng eng hen. both must have been telling a lot of jokes to draw the laughters from their audiences. it is good that ministers have a good sense of humour. a rare quality in this highly stressed singapore when children playing with white elephants are taken very seriously by adults. now for a little good news. boonwan announced that from april 1, withdrawal of medisave is up from $300 to $400. this is one of the reasons for the loud applause reported by the serious sunday times. i think the applause will be thunderous if the announcement is for medical fees to by slashed by another 10%. but good news is good news. no need to bother about substance. another piece of good news. an average c class hospital bill is $800. and 9 in 10 patients in b2 class paid less than $2,200. and the medisave account as at end 2004 showed a balance of at least $17,000. more than enough to pay for hospital bills. so no need to worry. given that not many people will be hospitalised more than 3 times in their life time, and using the $2,200 figure as a guide, would a $6,600 medisave balance be more than adequate? take in the continuous increases in medical fees, a $10,000 medisave balance will surely be sufficient. ahem, i think the roar of approval will bring down the roof of the hall if boonwan would to announce that from april 1 medisave will be capped at $10,000 instead of the current $32,500 and will go up further. and eng hen drew laugher in his rebuttal of wp's 4 dangerous time bombs in its manifesto. maybe the wp should take his advice and do a thorough audit on the team that put up these dangerous proposals. are the proposals seriously thought out to win votes for the wp or to undermine wp? if i can agree with 3 out of eng hen's four rebuttals, then i think it is serious. the four points may be announced too early. april 1 is still quite some time away. the point that i agree with wp is subsidies and assistances to those who need help. after spending $2.5 bil on upgradings of parks and facilities, and $1 bil for needy folks, i thought it will be better to spend $2.5 bil on people and $1 bil on parks and plants and upgrading. then no reason to say money not enough. with 240,000 on the official list of being poor, money sure not enough. $1 bil really can't do much. it is better to give, maybe $100,000 to one person and he will be so much happier. and cheaper to do so. and one can claim authority from the divine who said, 'for those who have, more will be given to them.' with divine authority, who dare to say it is wrong? so if you are earning a lot more, maybe $2 mil, you need not have to complain that you need a raise. you need not have to tell people that you need more cash to stash away in your bank accounts. more will be given to you without asking. isn't that nice? it is a beautiful sunday.

foreign talents: malaysians not in the equation

while many write or talk about the foreign talent issue, one thing that has escape notice or discussion is the malaysians, and also ex singaporeans. these two groups are being taken for granted. the malaysians, for historical reasons, and familiarity are never seen as outsiders in this regard. there are welcome to come and go. the issue of singaporean vs malaysian, the you against us mentality, only crops up when there is a spat, usually politically motivated. this closeness as a common people between two bickering nations is unique in our context. but with a few more generations down the line, will this closeness remain or evaporate forever into the future?

janadas devan: why spore should welcome foreign talent

i fully agree with his final remarks 'give me your weavers, your drainers,/your huddled financiers and traders yearning to breathe free,/the wretched geniuses - with IQs above 160, never mind EQ -of your teeming shore.' the crux of the matter is all talents, with IQs of 160. not all the half talents or mister average which we too have plentiful, and have given two or two and a half years of their precious youth to the nation. and will take up arms to die for the nation. we cannot trade off the lives of our own sons for half bakes. experts, technocrats, professionals are welcome with open arms. i will welcome them too. janadas uses the example of america and uk as good examples of free countries that benefitted greatly from the welcome foreign talent policies. what he forgot to elaborate is that these two are big countries and especially america where land is big and opportunities are aplenty but with few heads except red indians. they have no problems accepting all the foreign talents without causing severe unemployment and social stress to their own people. america is a totally different case as the country was new and unstructured, and wild. we have structured ourselves over the last 40 years. we cannot afford to drown our country with an influx of foreigners to replace the citizens. or shall we follow the americans in displacing their true sons of the soil, the red indians, with foreign talents? this follow the america thinking is very dangerous for a small country like us. the stark difference in dimension and size will put all policies that were right in america wrong here. we try to do things like we are america but without the critical mass to spread the risk or to provide the numbers. as such, we have seen many crazy ideas being implemented, blindly to the detriment of nation and people. yes welcome all those with 160 IQs.

nude squat to snoop squad

malaysia will be a nation forever divided and sanctioned in the constitution. the bumiputra policies, with its well intention to protect the rights of the malays, will divide the country along racial lines. ain't this bad enough? now the more serious and dangerous threat to further divide the country is the sanctioned of islam as a parallel institution to the national courts of justice. article 121(1A) rules that the national courts have no jurisdiction over the religious courts. the nation thus has two judicial systems of equal status. does it mean that if the religious court sentenced a thief to have his hands chop off, the national court has no right to intervene? what about citizens who are muslims and are also from other races, and the issue is grey or controversial? can the accused choose to be judged by a national court? the body case is a good example. the family has no say and neither has the national court any say even to dispute whether moorthy actually became a muslim. and as much as he is a muslim and belongs to islam, he is also a husband and a father and belongs to the family and his indian community. but the religious court is supreme. with racial and religion as the two swords that divide the nation, and with a religion that has no qualms about interfering into the private affairs of its believers and non believers, the stage is set for more confrontation. malaysia can be set on fire any day.

catherine lim, i agree with you

catherine lim wrote a long article today in the straits times on the perennial issue of freedom of speech. i must say i fully agree with her. just recall the white elephants at buangkok and the sale of white elephant t-shirt issues are enough to tell a very enlightening story. i buy you kopi, catherine.

world bank/imf conference: 300 to be caned!

fast forward to the worldbank/imf conference and the big demonstration. then imagine 300 demonstrators from usa, australia, uk, south korea, japan, hk etc got arrested for violence. then all sentenced to be caned. wow, can be a tourist attraction. and another guinness world record.

no pay for the presidency

the stringent criteria for the presidency has limited the pool of candidates to a very few very rich and well established individuals. it is no longer a position for the not so affordable people. people who are qualified to run for presidency literally do not need the money. they are well established, well accomplished, and well advanced in age. the presidency is the highest position in the state and its value cannot be measured by a salary. let's not insult the presidency by giving it a money value. also they don't really need the money. make the presidency an honour position. it is an honour to serve as the president of the nation. people seeking presidency shall not be seeking money. the thought is degrading. in this light, i would suggest that the president be paid an honorarium and not a salary. and the honorarium can be in the region to $200k or $300k per annum. more than enough. too much for such dignitaries who have achieved a lot in life. let them serve with honour than with money in their mind. let them be above money and need not have to pray how much they should get for bonus at the end of the year. remove the money factor from the minds of the people and let it not be an issue of ridicule.

gst: let's play with numbers

numbers are very interesting especially in percentage terms. let's apply it to the gst and see how funny it becomes. imagine a jobless man who happens to earn only $100 in a year as he was unemployed most of the time. his annual income is $100. and he pays no income tax. can't be? but what about indirect tax through gst? he pays in everyway as he consumes goods and services. bus fares, food, conservancy fees, etc. let's say all this adds up to $100 gst. he pays 100% tax!!! true. no joke. an unemployed can pay 100% or more in tax because of gst. what about those who earn no income and still pay gst? what kind of percentage? then apply the gst to those who earn a million and pay $10,000 in gst. in percentage terms, the rich pays very little gst compares to the very poor. this is number game.

how singaporeans wasted their hard earned money

in coes which is a piece of paper that lasts for 10 years. in scrapping their almost brand new cars that can last for another 10 or more years. in a subsidised hdb flat that will eventually be valueless. in upgrading their eventually valueless flats by pumping in more money. now you know how singaporeans spent their life savings and ended up as hard up cases. owning a hdb flat is not an investment but an expendable item just like a car. instead of 10 years, it is 99 years. the initial profits due to inflation and speculation will end up as nothing with time. it is not a freehold or 999 year leasehold where the value could stay for a long time and even appreciate more the longer it goes into the future. a 99 year old lease is a depreciating asset, a consumable asset.

ns defaulters: the wrath of ns men

the feelings against ns defaulters are very intense and very wide spread if one is to take note of the number of letters in the media. it is an issue that is going to stir up as much emotions as the nkf. every adult male is affected. the parents are affected. the wives and children are affected. in fact the whole nation is affected. though we can expect the masses to have a varied response on the issue, i thought the politicians should be very clear headed on this. ns service cannot be compromised and cannot be bought. but this is something that we have set for ourselves and it will also be a noose around our neck. it will restrict the nation in its way of dealings with exceptions. how to welcome talents who defaulted on ns? how to welcome an exceptional talent who is young to be a citizen without the dread of ns? and how to welcome the likes of melvyn tan who have made good, to return home?

wp so foolish to fight in angmokio

a letter by a harry chia said that low thia khiang is so foolish to waste 5 or 6 candidates in angmokio. he is so foolishly sure that the wp will lose. no doubt i will think that the wp will lose. 99% sure in my view. but can people be so certain that tomorrow the sun will rise? the judgement is that it is a forgone conclusion. this is like god speaking. knowing the future. though i don't think wp will win, i still think that it is not a bad idea to contest at angmokio. let's not take things for granted. not to take the voters for granted. in a fair contest, in a fair election, you don't really know the results until the fat lady stands out to sing. why would people take risk, be entrepreneurs, try the impossible? singaporeans will not?

president's salary increases by another $115k

they are increasing the president's salary again, what to $2.5 million? from the perspective of those who are earning in the millions, what's wrong, just another what 5%. small change. from the point of view of those who are earning $1200, this must be madness. but then the argument is that there is only one president. so in terms of percentage against the whole economy or govt wage bill, it is so small. when a person is earning $1200, give him $1000, it will change his life. if one is earning in the millions, given him another $1 million, very likely the comment will be peanuts. and the money will not make any difference to him except to inflate the already inflated savings account. how a nation distributes its wealth and who or how many people will benefit from the nation's wealth is an issue which the academics will have a world of a time discussing it. oh, all the poor citizens will get some, don't worry, it is very fair. the poor will be well looked after.

is there a problem?

i am not too sure about this. but what i have gathered so far is that a born singaporean can only exercise his right to become a citizen of another country only when he attains the age of 21. this means that all male singaporeans who intend to take up another citizenship will still be a defaulter if he does not serve his ns. he is thus liable to be charged in court when he steps into singapore even if he is now a foreign citizen. cannot even be a pr here until after he has been charged as a defaulter. 'sway' to be born a singaporean. if born from anywhere else, malaysia, india or china, or indonesia, can come here and work as pr and be treated as a foreign talent. there is no possibility for the govt to accede to a request to defer ns pending application for foreign citizenship at 21. so technically cannot escape.

nkf to review its mission - khaw boon wan

i am wondering what is nkf? is it a national hospital with responsibility to look after kidney patients and the problem of kidney diseases at the national level? or is it a charity set up to help kidney patients who cannot afford the expensive treatment? from the way boonwan talked about nkf's future roles and responsibilities, looks like nkf is a national hospital with national responsibilities. then it is better to privatise it and run efficiently as a profit organisation. no need donations from the public. if it is set up as a charity, then it must be able to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients. setting up all the clinics and running at a cost higher or almost as high as a profit making hospital does not justify its existence. it is better for nkf to concentrate on subsidising the medical cost of patients from donated money. return or sell the clinics to the govt or private hospitals to run them at lower cost and better efficiency. (hi anonymous, trying to locate your latest post on this but couldn't find it.)

no shame in being poor - speedwing

i fully agree with speedwing that there is no shame is being poor. often in life a person is dealt a poor hand and got to live with it and make the best out of it. for the religious, there are many reasons for life to be this way or that way. society has looked at poverty differently. and there is often the intent to want to help, but just enough for the poor to continue to eke out a living, to extend their life in misery. no poor people can expect society to feed them and cloth them and to live well. but the poor needs help and help will be given, on conditions. this brings to the issue of means testing. my personal view on this is that the poor is already poor. help them if one can. no need to humiliate them more by subjecting them to embarrassing questions. the argument that there will be those who aren't really poor but will take advantage of the help given is valid but not really that serious. this can be dealt with on a case by case basis. the people in authority somehow find it so easy and comfortable to ask for means testing. what is means testing? basically it demands a person to be stripped naked for another person or a group of people to see, to inspect his finances. i have seen some of the questions asked in the forms issued by charitable organisations. many were simply intrusive and out of line with the realities of life. but basically the questions intend to make sure that the person being checked is penniless, totally broke. how many are so desperate when earning $1,200 is now considered poor and needed help. and this is officially acknowledged. many financial checks are way behind time. but that is not the point. the person who thinks that it is acceptable to subject another human beings to this kind of humiliating checks must be prepared to put himself through the same process. many people have asked that the people in authority declare their assets. but it all falls silence. who in his right mind would allow people to peep into their finances and personal matters? if this is objectionable to the rich, then it is objectionable to the poor too. both deserve some respect as a human being. many poor would rather suffer in silence and in poverty that than to lose their pride. the recent case of the 3 children who missed school is only a drop in the ocean. yes, those who have may say, if you are poor, when your stomach is empty, when you needed help, what is pride? should society be so harsh and passionless to treat a person in dire straits in a callous and insensitive way?

your baby pays tax

not only your baby pays tax. your grandpa and grandma pay tax. your school going children pay tax. your unborn baby also pays tax. gst is non discriminatory. anyone who consumes goods and services pay gst. the unemployed are not exempted. the old and bed riddened are also not spare. all pay gst. that is why i called for discrimination in gst. there must be discrimination so that those who should not be paying tax should not be taxed. whether this be in the form of direct exemption or indirect refund or some systems, let the administrators go and think about it. otherwise, no one is free from tax. the young and the old, working or not working, all pays tax. is this what we want? this is uniquely singapore.

ezlink card: super efficiency or profit crazy

for all the students who have just completed their 'o' level exam and are waiting for their results, some may have proceeded to jcs immediately, and some may still be waiting for entry to polys. many are still holding on to their student ezlink cards. what has happened is that the cards have been reprogrammed to charge them non student concession rate without any announcement. and for those students who have gained admission to jcs, they will be happily paying adult rate if they did not check their cards. and if they do, they would likely have to get the jcs to verify their student status and get mrt to revert them to student rates. any refund? this is efficiency in singapore that is not only ugly but frightening. can't the authorities be graceful enough to let the children use the c0ncession cards for a couple of months till after the 'o' level result is out? why the eagerness to earn those extra few cents from school children? well, are they working for their own bonuses or what? so, are privatisation and profitability turning humans into mindless greedy robots? shall we pray to this new god called privatisation? are we becoming a passionless society where everyone thinks of nothing but money?

the fear of red

the colour of red is getting unwelcome. red invitation card, and hongpow. i was reading this article in the paper where the mother of 6 children mentioned that sometimes she felt unwelcome because of angpows. got to give to 6 children. and the wedding invitation card can be quite formidable as a demand for payment. it is not easy to invite your colleagues or friends to a wedding when the angpow is now $100 per head when held in a hotel. some even put in $200 per angpow. at the rate the angpow is inflating i think one day wedding at hotel will only be for the very rich. and one of these days the wedding couple may get into shock when no one turns up for the wedding, all because of the hefty angpow. why be compelled to attend a wedding and pay so much? then a $2 or $1.10 angpow is disappearing and people are loading them with red $10 notes, and some times more than a couple inside for the lunar new year. how far will this go before giving angpows becomes a frightening experience? should someone speak out and reverse this trend, when giving angpows is just a token for good luck and not pot luck. angpow should be reverted back to its former practice, as a goodwill gesture with a small token sum, maybe standardised at $2. the specially big angpows be reserved for children giving to their parents. preservation of a tradition and culture must not become so expensive and prohibitive that eventually it will kill it.

straits times editorial joking

the first funny article i read in the editorial of the straits times. it more or less suggests that a tour guide must also drive the tour bus, be an expert in both and thus earn more. this is called job redesigning or upgrading. so we have two jobs reduced into one in order that one man can earn more while one man loses his job. i prefer another approach. create more attractive jobs and paying very well too. from one job, create another two jobs from the first jobs, and all pay equally well. how does it work? have a ceo. then create a senior ceo. then create another advisor to the ceo. all big titles and deserving at least ceo pay. in one stroke it kills two birds. create more jobs and jobs that pay more. why destroy jobs when there is unemployment? why take away someone's ricebowl to give it to another leaving one without a job? it is hilarious.

ns defaulters: what is fair?

i watched the censored version of the debate on tv last night. not much of a debate actually. just some brief cuts here and there. the main issue from those for punishment is to make it equitable as ns is a vital national institution that cannot be undermined. the other side of the argument is to treasure every singaporean, defaulters or not defaulters. the latter group even go to the extent to saying, 'just tell me how much and we will pay' to default and escape ns. but there are the feelings of more than 700,000 ns men to contend with, and more along the way. any thought that anyone can buy themselves out of ns is a no go. i can appreciate the need to welcome back the prodigal son. no one shall be condemned to be exiled. the thought that the country may offer the route of pr for those who have taken up foreign citizenship and be allowed to return did crop up in my mind. be kind and generous and let them return in a different form, but not as a citizen. this option is good only if citizenship is so desirable, that citizenship comes with plenty of privileges, that people are craving to be citizens to be favoured by the nation. but unfortunately it is not. citizenship comes with a heavy burden and a big personal sacrifice. the cost of being a citizen is very high. a ns man actually gave away 2 to 2 and a 1/2 years of his life to the state. during this period he is owned by the state and have to go through all the training, regimentation, sleeping on dirt, braving the weather, playing with fire or weapons, and in the process, risk losing his limbs or life. and what did he get in return? pittance from the state that he probably had to ask his parents for pocket money. then another 20 years of reservist liabilities when his life can be disrupted by the call of duty. ippt, in camp training, overseas training, silent recall, on standby etc. and don't forget the military punishment, detention, extra duties for breach of discipline. can all these pains be worth it? is a fine of $10,000 or 3 years jail enough compensation? why would a man choose to pay so dearly for a title called citizen when he can enjoy practically everything a citizen has by just being a pr and without having to go through ns? is a $1 million bond good enough to pay? after going through the sacrifices a ns man has to go through, i think the new punishment is still not enough. there is no privilege being a citizen except the right to vote. to protect the institution of ns and the defence of the nation, the nation would have to live with losing a few prodigal sons. unless citizenship is so attractive that just being a pr is so disadvantaged that people would want to volunteer for ns. only then can the nation be generous enough to offer a pr route for singaporeans who still want to remain here and avoid ns. that is, when pr is a second rate resident while citizenship is first class with first class privileges.

help save our fallen talents

the govt is spending $1 billion to help those who are earning less than $1,200. would the govt be kind enough to consider helping the group of fallen talents, formerly very talented, many were managers and ceos, but now unemployed or become taxi drivers? this group, some in the late 40s or in their 50s, have housing mortgages, children in school, but now with a dwindled income as taxi drivers or some other jobs that really would not be enough to provide for their families basic necessities. and many would not come forward to ask for financial assistance even when they have fallen on bad times. this is the most neglected group and with the most responsibilities and needed the most help. maybe we should organise a charity show and interview them and let them tell people their hardship on television, and hopefully after a few tear jerker stories, they might receive some donations from the public. they are so pitiful.