a listening pm

just heard the budget speech by hsien loong over the radio. what came across is that he is very interested in what people said in the media forum and he takes them seriously, and responded to the issues raised by the public. not sure about blogs though. this is a positive development as it shows that the media is becoming an important tool for communication with the govt. it would be good if the pm and ministers/mps/govt officers be more active and engage the people directly, once in a while. they are busy and cannot expect them to be so free like bloggers or site forumers. the full power and convenience of the internet shall be exploited by all parties to communicate and exchange views that are relevant to the people and affect public policies. writing a letter and waiting for another few weeks for a reply is passe. internet provides intant feedback and response. maybe they shall engage full time staff to man their emails or their message boxes.

general election held during good times

good times are back. there will be many goodies for everyone because the country is doing well. and the people can look forward to more goodies. this time probably more than the last time as the budget surplus is much bigger. elfred and i are expecting $15k per head. i am already smiling with the thought. how can they disappoint me and turn my smile into a frown ? : ) the budget is definitely not an election budget. it just so happen that it turns out this way. a coincidence. and it is only natural for the ruling party to call an election when times are good. i have no complain about this. as long as i get my $15k. and elfred too will be very happy. but one thing i sure know now. our economy is running on a 4 year cycle. every 4 years our economy will turnaround. and everyone can look forward to good times and to more goodies. lets cheer to that. hey, i am not complaining. just keep the goodies coming.

money grabbing philosophy

does the pap really believe that the people are with them and approve of all the money motivated solutions and profit making policies? do they really believe that the people do not think, cannot think, and do not know what is happening, and agree with how things are being done? maybe my interpretations of events are all wrong. that the people are all with the govt and are satisfied with how things are being done. but i still believe that when tan soo khoon said that the party is over, he probably understand the position better. and he knows what is the mood. he must have a good feel of things.

new police measures: for better or for worst

hey you girl, come here. how old are you? where do you live? show me your ic. what is your telephone number? i am the police. the police are concerned that young people are loitering in the streets late at night and take it as their duty to inform their mummies. good for employment. now we can employ more policemen to do nannying work on the streets. and employment rate will go down. there are thousands of teenagers on the streets daily. how many more policemen will be needed to check on them? i must say the intention is good. very good. it will be better if the policemen carry some spare cash in case these teenagers have no money for transport home. or they may be hungry after a night out. but will these actions by the police be seen as harrassing or intrusion into the privacy of a person's life? even a teenager does have his right to go anywhere to please himself. does the police think that it is ok for them to suka suka check on every teenager? does the teenager have a right not to tell them her phone number? is the checking of a person/teenager's ic at the whims and fancy of the police acceptable? good night nanny. i am going home now.

university fees: smu joins the fray

smu does not want to lose out in the race to be the most expensive university in singapore, which means the best education money can buy. the more you pay the better will be the university. smu has raised its fee the second time, each time by 15%. so on the same logic, the quality of its education is up by 30%. nus and ntu have raised by 8%. so in terms of percentage its quality is up by only 8%. so smu is now a better university. so we shall wait to see who will up the stake in the next increment. nus and ntu now have better reasons to up their fees as they can justify by quoting smu. smu is now more expensive than us. so we are charging below market rate. or smu up 30%. we up only 8%. that is a great anomaly. a miscarriage of justice. better up another 22% to make up. anyone dare to say our university fees are expensive? it is not even peanuts. what great universities we are having now. world class, in tuition fees.

ge: is there a coordinated effort or spanners in the work

it is election time and we can all expect everything coming out from the govt or govt related organisations to be carefully time for this big event. for any wrong move could make or break the ruling party, or at least the majority votes that it aims to win. we have seen and heard all the good economic, financial and employment data. for once the govt has stopped gloating over the greatness of foreign talents. and the govt is going to pump in a lot of money to beautify the infrastructure. a lot of giveaways, money going to be thrown down from the balcony. the people are all eagerly expecting some handouts. so far all these can only be good for the ruling party. but then we are also hearing irritating and sickening news coming out from other corners. we have had our transportation fee hike in bad times but ended with the transport operators laughing all the way to the bank. there were school fees hike for independent schools and now universities think they were given a blank cheque to fill in the numbers they want. the ire of the people is heightening. people are starting to grit their teeth. the money crazy people seems so distant from the politics on the ground. who cares, line up the pocket first. this country is not going to the dogs. but going to the greedy money grabbers. squeezing from the public seems to be the easiest way to grab money as the public are helpless and clueless. where are we heading? now the general election is around the corners. for every bad decision or bad news, it will take 10 good and pleasant news to remove the stale bitterness. when is the govt going to rein in this madness that money is the solution to all problems and money is there to be grabbed....from the people?

angmohs are really smart.

if i were an angmoh organisation, and if i want to spread my soft culture to influence the world, and at the same time provide high salary employment for my academics, this is what i will do. set up an agency to rank universities around the world according to my criteria. the same way the miss world or miss universe contests were organised and conducted. the same angmoh biased criteria. some of these criteria that will be important are: 1. the number of notable angmoh academics teaching in the universities. 2. how to judge them as notables? a lot of publications in renowned publications and professional journals. and for these, the angmohs have a comparative advantage as all or most of the renowned journals are angmoh journals. 3. and who to do the judging, the angmohs of course. so all the wannabe third world universities will be scrambling to meet these criteria to be ranked among the greats in this angmoh ranking organisations. they will end up employing all the great angmoh academics and pay them great angmoh salaries. and these great angmoh academics will be so highly regarded that it will be so easy for them to go out there to influence the minds and thinking of the future leaders of the third world countries. did i hear neo colonialism of the minds? and for those third world academics who ended up losing their jobs in their own national universities, just too bad. they are not good enough. don't fit the criteria of what is great. any angmoh reading this, please pat yourself on your back for such a brilliant concept. i mean it. the third world wannabes will be crawling on their knees to beg the great angmoh academics to grace their shores.

academics hired on merits and not nationality

for the past 5 years, 23% of newly recruited academics to our tertiary institutions were singaporeans. or put it the other way, 77% are foreign talents. at the rate it is going, we will need to rename the tertiary institutions as singapore world universities. singapore for the location of the universities. and world to tell people all the academics were recruited from around the world. now, a world class university is coming up right on our soil. now i know why the fees must keep going up. world class academics are really good and really expensive. now the question is whether our student quality is up to par to be taught and converted into world class graduates. then, whether the world will recognise our students as world class, on top of the world, after graduating from our world class universities. if our students are not of world class material, never mind. instant solution. offer their places to top students from china and india and neigbouring countries. by taking these measures, sure we will get world class academics and world class students to be turned into world class graduates. singaporeans who are not up to world class mark can go to polytechnics, or get a father's scholarship and go overseas to attend not so world class universities. we are the best. we are number one. we can buy quality, just like we bought honesty.

casinos: singaporeans are so lucky

after skimming through the newspaper reports on the casino debate, i spent less than 3 minutes, and that is how important or meaningful the debate was, i concluded that singaporeans are very lucky. and singapore is so very safe from disintegrating into a nation with loose morals. singaporeans must stand up and give a standing ovation to the strong moral standards on casinos that were displayed in parliament. many parliamentarians were worried for singaporeans and how singaporeans could be destroyed by the casinos. and they recommended many measures to protect the singaporeans. may i also take this opportunity to offer a few solid proposals for on the casinos. 1. do a means testing(i hate means testing) on any singaporeans who want to enter the casinos. and make sure they have at least $10,000 cash to lose. 2. make their family members sign a letter of consent before they be allowed to enter the casinos. with the letter of consent they can be issued with an ezlink card just for the casinos. 3. limit the number of times each person can visit the casinos. preferably once a month. too many times they will be addicted and become a danger to themselves, their families and society. 4. all gamblers must visit a psychiatrist once a month for pre addiction checkup, just in case they have been infected by the gambling bugs. they will then be issued with a pass to certify their clean bill of health. 5. more psychiatric clinics will be set up dedicated for these gamblers. 6. the anti vice unit shall set up a gambling squad to conduct surprise checks on these gamblers. i learn this from the snoop squads. they must carry their health cards with them at all times. 7. any gambler who skip their monthly appointment with the psychiatrist shall be fined and banned from gambling for 3 months. 8. the anti vice shall be empowered to call up the gamblers for interview when they deemed it necessary. wow, ain't i smart to come out with such morally correct recommendations.

crooked bridge: another sound argument in its favour

a lot of sound is coming down from across the causeway in support of its demolition. this time the reasoning is that the water in the straits is like water in a giant toxic sink. funny that no fish has been found floating belly up over the last 82 years. for the same reasons, the water in all the rivers are water in a toxic sink. and all the lakes must be containing deadly water. the living and thriving fishes in the straits is the best testimony of the quality of water in the straits. hey, come off the craps! the water is a huge waterway leading into the open seas on both sides. it is not dead water. come to think of it, our reservoir must be containing poisonous water as the water are land lock. the giant toxic sink description would fit our reservoirs perfectly. and we are drinking them. we should all be dead now. or no, all the aquatic life in the reservoirs should be dead, poison, under this kind of stretched and contrived logic.

the best news today

nus and ntu are both raising their fees, again, the second time in two years after acquiring autonomous status. this augurs well for the education scene in singapore. the two universities will soon be among the top few universities in the world. they needed the money to raise the standard and quality of their courses and degrees. well, at least if they don't get it to the top in quality they will be in the tops in fees, in no time. maybe they are already there if we measure the fees relative to the income of the population. and if these hikes did not improve the quality, they should make a more hefty hike next year and the year after. sure the quality will improve. if i were in the opposition parties i will place education on top of my agenda. and tell the voters, if elected, fire all those who are the reasons for the fee hike. this silly thing about money equals quality must be put to a stop. we have a lot of quality shit everywhere.

national service: the singapore solution

as expected, the over reaction mentality is again put into motion. heavier penalties and more stringent regulations to curb ns evasion. children below the age of 16 will now be affected if they stay overseas for more than 3 months without permit. fines and fines. this is the standard way of public policy making. just whack the people with more fines, use the stick, use more disincentives. why can't the approach be more incentives for citizens and those who serve ns as a dutiful citizen? the concept of tightening the noose around the citizens neck is very negative. the nation cannot force the people who longer wish to stay... to stay. by tightening the noose, it only increase the push factor for people to want to get out. and citizenship becomes so restrictive and a huge burden of can't dos. i would thought a better approach would be to let those who want to leave... leave. and then add on the incentives for citizens who stay, who do their duties as citizens. make citizenship really worthwhile, an attractive and desirable choice. not a citizenship that has nothing more to offer except more restrictions, regulations and penalties. why are singaporeans be put on a leash? what is clear now is that citizenship is nothing better, but a worse off option. is that what singapore citizenship is all about? where is the value and heart and soul to be a citizen?

ge: you want my vote? listen to me

in every election it is always the politicians who tell the voters this is what i am going to do for you. this is what you will get when you elect me. never did the politicians ask the voters what they want. and this is about the best time for the voters to register their minds and thoughts. you want my vote, listen to me. this is what i want. this is what i think is good for me. is there a platform for the people to tell the politicians what they want? the internet chat sites and blogs and the media forum may be the place for it. this is an opportunity presented for the voters to say their piece. these are what i want, if you want my vote. 1. i want my cpf back at 55. you may keep $10k for a medical insurance. the rest is my money and i want it back. 2. i want public transport to be returned to the people. deprivatise public transport and return it to the stats board as an essential service for the people. no profit motive. 3. no more essential services to be privatised. if they do, make sure that the citizen's access to such service is not subject to profit motive. 4. take care of the citizens first. all jobs between $1000 to $10k must first be offered to the citizens. only if no takers shall it be given to ft. exceptions can be given to mncs. all govt and stats boards and glcs must prioritise to give jobs to citizens. 5. keep medical cost down with every citizen accessible to c wards if he so chooses. these are just the starters from me, for my vote. don't tell me what is good for me. i tell you what is good for me.

budget terminal budget decision

when i switched on the news i chanced to hear sin boon ann asking the minister of transportation whether the building of the budget terminal was a hasty decision. it seems that till now only one budget airline has committed to use the budget terminal. what about the rest of the budget airlines? lim hwee hua said that they were adopting a wait and see approach. sin boon ann also questioned whether there were excess capacity at changi where budget airlines could operate temporary while the situation was still developing. or could the transport ministry also adopt a wait and see approach before committing millions to the new budget terminal. when have singapore reached this state of affair when million dollar decision were done hastily and now we got a practically empty terminal. a buangkok terminal? but there were only what, 4 budget airlines in operation? so one out of four, that is 25% of the market. not too bad statistically. it would only look funny when the rest of the airlines choose not to use the budget terminal. why is transportation in singapore so difficult to handle? must go to waterloo street and bathe with flower water, i think.

when will the teachers grow up?

students prevented from entering schools to collect 'o' level results or told to come back later, properly attired, hair dyed black and not in primary colours. these were the actions taken by the educators of our children, who deemed spaghetti straps, short skirts or punkish hair improper or undesirable inside a school compound. many years back in the 60s or 70s, long hair rock stars were not allowed to perform in singapore unless their hair are cropped short, like singaporeans. today this kind of mentality is still with our teachers. better tell choktong and hsienloong cannot wear red shirts while on tv. must wear clean white long sleeve shirts. by the way, the school children have left the schools after sitting for the 'o' level. some could be working or in other schools. they came back only for the result slips. why are these schools still think that they have the right to regiment them? can they let the young have their fun? why must every young one dressed up like old spinsters or monks? come on teachers, relax lah. if they are bad they are bad. otherwise it is just some innocent fun of the adolescence. making them come back in dresses that the teachers found palatable is not going to change anything. i think the teachers need to grow up. with such rigid minds, how can there be creativity?

futuristic singapore

the infrastructure of singapore will be designed to be handicap friendly, from lifts, walkways, roads, to public transport. with the ageing population, singapore is preparing itself for a nation of wheelchair bound communters. i am not sure of the economics, but i think it would be easier and more economical to set up a dedicated transport service to cater for these people than to turn the whole island into a white elephant. i have seen all the beautiful metal strips and buttons on mrt station floors. i have yet to see one handicap person using them. sure there will be some handicap people using them. but the frequency and cost of having them need to be studied carefully. and stop passing the buck of a poorly thought out solution to the commuters. it is easy to make everyone pays. another crooked bridge solution. i am not against making life easier for the handicaps. but i think the solution must be practical and cost effective. imagine redesigning all the buses for wheelchairs? how many buses need to be redesigned and how much will it cost? would it be better to have a fleet of taxis with such additional capabilities and be subsidised by the transport companies. more thinking needs to go into the concept before ploughing more public money into it. it will be public money, everyone's money. the transport companies are going to pass the buck to everyone. so please think carefully when using public money. transport companies have a moral responsibility to spend such money wisely and efficiently. if they want to spend on more gimmicks, please pay for it themselves, from their own pockets. maybe it will be better to have powered wheelchair vehicles. afterall at that age, many will have all the time in the world to sight see at their own time.

crooked bridge: a rip off for poor commuters

After more than eight decades, it has really outlived its usefulness, painful though this may be for some of us to admit. It is understandable that there are those who cling on to the Causeway and loathe to see it go. It is so much a part of their psyche that its demolition could well leave a psychological, sentimental and emotional vacuum in their version of the republic’s history.Such sentiments could be shared by some Malaysians, too. But this is the 21st century. We owe it to the younger generations on both sides of the strait to optimise the economic potential of the region. The economic and non-economic arguments for the Causeway’s removal are compelling. Opposition to the new bridge should not be rooted in outmoded fears about Singapore Port’s status, perceived threats to its economic well-being and its regional role as a transportation hub.The republic has progressed way beyond its once heavy dependence on its port. ... In fact, the beneficial impact on Singapore from an improved economic hinterland in Johor with the Causeway’s removal will far outweigh any adverse effect, if at all there is any. Johor is already a major destination for Singapore’s investment dollars, which have contributed immensely to the State’s economic growth and prosperity. There will be more commercial and investment opportunities when the bridge is built.... The mutual benefits of a new bridge are not difficult to fathom. Hopefully, economic realities and common sense will win the day for the bridge. by Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing is president of the Malaysian Institute of Directors. i have extracted parts of an article by lim kok wing posted in singaporesurf. i think this is an idiotic parroting of a silly idea that is not tenable economically. the bridge is anything but a ripoff of the people who needs to commute daily to and fro from both sides. with the bridge no one can save a few dollars walking across. with the bridge, all transportation is limited by the bridge and with its dangers of mishaps. with the bridge, room for expansion is so limited than with a land bridge. no sensible person will spend billions to cut off a land bridge to be replaced by a flimsy bridge just for some water to flow under and a few small pleasure craft or small ships to sail through. it is definitely water under the bridge. the people of malaysia and singapore must stand up to protest against this silly bridge concept. when are these people going to think for the people on both sides of the causeway, sincerely, than for their own pockets?

general election: prelim round 7

george yeo, the affable gentleman minister, said he will work very hard for every vote. he will not take voters for granted. this is a big contrast from the initial outburst of arrogance, that pap will win in any contest that we heard. perhaps the feedback has its effect. or maybe it is just george yeo and his sense of humility. but why is aljunid a hot seat that attracts the opposition? they failed the first time for technical reasons. what a shame and what a fish. why would wp do itself in on a simple procedural matter? is there something fishy inside wp? in my perception, george yeo is a very bright and sensible minister. i even rated him as a sure win minister. but why would the opposition want to challenge him when there are very obvious weak and controversial ministers to take on? did the opposition reads the ground differently, that george yeo is weak in aljunid and the ground is sweet? or, someone fed misinformation to wp to take on a strong minister, thus wasted their valuable and limited resources in a sure lose contest? there is something very strange in wp's strategy. it defies logic and sensibilities to contest against george yeo. but the worker's party may known something we don't. or they could be misled.

general election: can sm goh produce another miracle

this is the title of a post in ypap forum. can sm goh produce another miracle? it reminds me of a friend of mine. he has a bag full of miracles. so if anyone needs a miracle he is the man. for every club in his bag is a miracle. from his 3 irons to his sand wedge, his driver to his 5 woods, everyone is a miracle. we used to have a good laugh when he pull his miracles from his bag. we can expect something great, except his shots. hope he is not reading this. a bag of clubs named miracles! a bag full of miracles!

general election: political parties

on a sunday morning, i was musing with the names of political parties. we have our fair share of punts on our political parties' names. then i look north and things are very different. they called themselves, or recognised themselves as umno, mca, mic, gerakan, keadilan and pas. one feature that is very different from singapore that the missing of 'p' except for pas. pas can still be recognised as p...a...s. the rest are called quite differently. 'p' is a common denominator in singapore's political parties. we have p...and...p, w...p or worker's p, s...d...p, s...u...p...p, s...d...p, and s...p...p. so all our parties are called p's. we used to have the singapore alliance and the barisan socialis. but maybe because there don't have p's and can not exist here. looks like p is key to political success. i was thinking, if i were to name a new party, what kind of p would sound good? people' p, worker's p, citizen's p, singapore's p, as long as it has a p sounding at the end. but i still prefer not to p. somehow p does not sound so nice.

freedom of expression: how far shall it go?

Singapore A small reaction Arab-Muslim coffee shop puts up 'Danes Not Welcome' sign, but.. By Satirat Dam-ampai. scanasia.com.Feb 10, 2006 After the furore over the published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed made it to Singapore, a coffee shop there has put up a sign saying that Danish citizens were not welcome. The sign, which said “Citizens of Denmark are not welcomed in Samar till further notice” was displayed at the entrance and also inside of the Samar café on Friday 3 February, 2006. However the sign was removed on Monday 6 after the owner of the shop was ordered by the police to do so. He has also been ordered to go to a police station for questioning. The café supervisor Saiful Bahari told TMCNet News, "Basically we did it to express our freedom of speech because the cartoons touched on Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad. "As a Muslim, I do feel angry with what happened as it was totally insensitive." This cafe is located in the heavily Arab commercial area of Singapore and is owned by a Singapore citizen of Arab descent. i extracted this from littlespeck.com. on the ground of freedom of expression, i agree that there is nothing wrong with the sign. the cafe owner has a right not to welcome whoever he does not wish to welcome. then the next thing can happen is that every shop and restaurant starts to put up signs not to welcome this and that. then what? more heat will be generated and one leads to two and we will have riots on our streets. is freedom of expression worth what it is in such a case? contrast this with the white elephant issue and the little school girls selling white elephant t shirts, i think the police did it right this time. i do not think any sensible singaporeans will be offended by the police action in this case. as a people, we respect different races and their cultural and religious practices as long as each group keeps it within themselves. no group is allowed to make expressions that are rude or unpleasant to another group. to be selfish, the world can burn. but we shall live our lives the way we want it, peacefully. who says we must always court excitement? that singapore must be as exciting as other places? excitement often courts danger.

general election: a reflective moment

before the heat of the election proper gets in the way, there is time for a little reflection. lky asked what would he do if he were in the opposition. his formula, go for a single ward, get elected, established your credibility, then get a few good men and go for a grc and later a few grcs. chiam seetong had walked that road, intentional or by accident. he had the opportunity to do exactly what lky said. it did not work out for one big reason, he did not have good men with him. there was this lingering doubt as to the quality of the people he had then. hypothetically, if he did have good and decent men with him then, would it make any difference? would the ruling party be in a more generous mood to accommodate these new upstarts? would the road would be full of obstacles that making further advances treacherous? we have seen many casualities along the way. would it make any difference if these were genuine and sincere men who wanted to offer themselves as leaders of the nation? there are many good men but unwilling to step forward for good reasons. no one who is thinking would want to fight an uphill battle, no matter how fair and hard they fought, when defeat meant total destruction of life in the country. when a defeat meant a ticket of no return. in today's road map, can lky's formula work? unlikely. no independent candidate can hope to fight a decent election and win. there are too few single wards available and a one on one contest with the ruling pap is impossible. every single ward will be contested by the existing opposition parties. an independent candidate will find himself in a 3 corner fight, further weakening his chances. unless of course, there is a real change in the thinking of the ruling party, to welcome good people to stand and compete with them on equal terms. is lky's message an invitation for more good people to step forward? the number of single wards available will be a sign of whether there is a real change in perception of things to come. my formula, get a clean slate of good men and go straight for a grc. the time has come when a group of good men can take a grc from the ruling party. provided of course there is no underhand tactics being employed. and what is good and decent is very subjective and would need the approval of the 3 wise men, in a similar way.

general election: crystal ball gazing

this is my guess of the chances of pap ministers in the coming election. i will classify them under four categories, sure win, sure win but can have upsets, quite safe, and anything can happen. sure win: chok tong, jayakumar, chee hean, george yeo, kan seng, boonwan, sure win but can have upsets: hsien loong, lky, eng hen quite safe: yaacob, vivian, tharman, boon yang, raymond anything can happen: boon heng, swee say, bow tan, hng kiang, cheow tong just my gut feels. i think a fortune teller will also have his own take and so does anyone. you guys are welcome to make your guess. no prizes for the best forecast.

medisave: is cpf violating the law

there are two laws on medisave. one requires a self employed to continue to contribute to the medisave regardless of his age as long as he is self employed. does it mean that if a person is 100 years old and still self employed, he is still required to contribute to his medisave? obviously it is and no one in cpf cares two hoots why or is this an anomaly. the second law says the ceiling for contribution to the medisave currently stands at $32,500. this means there is no need to contribute to the medisave once this ceiling is reached. but the cpf practice is to transfer the medisave contribution into the ordinary account. or if this account is closed for members above 55 years, then the excess will be transferred to the retirement account. is this legally right to do so? all these laws seems to be conceived separately for different reasons in different times. should not the cpf straighten these laws to make them more sensible and relevant to the other cpf regulations like partial withdrawal at 55 and paying out at 62? should there be a law to stop cpf from demanding contributions from the self employed after a certain age? why is it so fun and shiok to keep collecting people's money? is cpf in violation of the laws that it introduces and implemented for its own convenience?

snoop squad kenna snooped

a snoop squad broke into a room, beat up the young man and followed up by molesting the girl. then they hauled the couple to the police station. the police on hearing the girl's story decided to arrest the snoop squad members for molesting. what about beating up the man? this kind of kangaroo court still exists in malaysia, the icon of modernisation in the muslim world. this type of tribal behaviour is quite frightening for the innocents. is it a country with laws or lawlessness?

singaporean IQ: an interesting post in soc.cul.spore

Hello there, I am an Indian graduate from the University of Madras. In the next few weeks, I will be traveling to your country Singapore to take up a job as a Chemical Engineer. I hope that I can integrate well into your society. I am a fresh graduate without any working experience, but was surprised to get this job with a handsome pay package. May better than most of you all. I understand through my daily news that young working Singaporeans is less intelligent than their elder. Is that true? Someone told me that you people have very low IQ, and because of this, your government had no choice but to import foreign workers. More than half the population is foreign workers I supposed? Anyway, immediately I was told by my interviewers that I will be classified as a foreign talent. I hope that I can impart some knowledge or teach you while I am there. As you know, Madras University is among a few top universities in the world, and from my judgment, it should be much higher in subject level and competency and more prestigious than any of your universities in tiny Singapore. Although it is not officially stated that I shall be employed as a foreign talent, I wish to be treated as one with due respect base on your lower IQ. above is an article posted in soc.cul.spore. i am truly amazed by the responses to the above articles, presumably by singaporeans. though a couple expressed doubts that the article was from a genuine indian foreign talent, several took him and his comments seriously. now what does that say of singaporean IQs?

general election: prelim round 6

this is more a kopitiam impression of how things have changed over the years. not too long ago the most frustrating compliant by the opposition is that they find it very difficult to contest the election. and the reason was not the redrawing of boundaries or grcs. the reason against the opposition is simply the brand name. it was often heard that you wear the badge on anyone or anything, it will be voted into parliament. the pap brand was so strong that it was quite pointless for the opposition to think of winning. today kopitiam talk is quite different. the impression is that if you wear the badge on anyone or thing, it is likely to lose. what a reversal in trend. a 180 degress about turn. would such an impression really be an indication of a big vote swing? kopitiam talk is one thing and the voting pattern or the actual voting is another. given the track record, the goodies, and the lack of good decent candidates from the opposition, even if there is a vote swing, the impact is not likely to be very great. but it will all depend on how good the opposition is. the issue now is not how good the pap is. so if the opposition is able to attract and put up good people, the mood may be more favourable to them to get voted in.

crooked bridge: a bridge with no returns

by now the message to the malaysian govt must have been very clear. it is a bridge that has no value to singapore but going to burn a big hole in the pocket. now why would the singapore govt go ahead to spend public funds, in the billions, on something that is not only of no real value, but comes with a string of liabilities. this just does not make economic sense to the singapore govt who would have to justify to the population for its unsound decision. but then again, if the money is spent as a goodwill for some other tradeoffs, maybe that can be considered. simply spending the money for no returns is absurb and out of question. now if the malaysians can say, ok, these are the sweeteners for the goodwill. then the issue will be what kind of sweeteners will be worth a billion singapore dollars? that will be the money the singapore govt will have to cough out to go ahead with the bridge. now the horse tradings start. you want the singapore govt to pay, then what is there to offer?

thaksin, shin corp and temasek

the trouble with thaksin is trouble for the sale of shin corp to temasek. and the fallout can be quite painful if the emotions of the thai public is played up. will temasek and singapore be embroiled in a domestic uprising in thailand and scuttle a seemingly business transaction? the rise and fall of thaksin is so dramatic that fortunes can change overnight. let's keep our finger crossed that this is strictly thai internal politics.

expensive health care

i have touched on this topic many times and will continue to bring it up every now and then until the cost of health care becomes reasonable to the average singaporeans. for this is going to be a pain to many singaporeans as age catch up with them but without the money catching up with the high cost of healthcare. and many singaporeans know that this is a serious problem close to their heart. the government's health care expenditure for the year 2004 is $1.71 billion or about $500 per citizen using a rough population of 3 million. on the other hand, govt subsidy for healthcare is a whopping $1.28 billion for the same year. now that is very high indeed. in fact far too high if one extrapolates on the amount of subsidy to the actual users. why is the govt unable to bring down health cost? or are we having the same kind of formula or logic used in the computation of hdb flats and subsidies? there is no reason for healthcare to be so expensive when all the people needs is basic healthcare. maybe a different set of figures shall be produced to look at health expenditure according to the classes of wards. how much is being subsidised at the lower end and upper end. i always call for govt hospitals to provide decent and adequate healthcare and not the luxurious kind. the latter can be provided by the commercial hospitals. and if govt hospitals do provide such services, there must be no subsidy. but the bottom line is still the factors used in coming out with the cost of healthcare.

cartoon caricatures: muslims retaliate

the indignation felt by the muslims over the cartoon incident is expected and understandable knowing how they revered prophet mohammed. the spontaneous protests in muslim countries around the world have driven home the message of how sensitive the issue is and should not be repeated. and i think this point is well taken by the western nations. but further violence and destruction of life may negate whatever injustice felt by the rest of the world for the muslims. the muslims must not assume that the incident is a licence for them to take lives or go on a rampage. the recent incident in sydney should be a reminder to the muslims that there are many westerners who can be as violent as them. there are many rightists and anti muslim groups in western countries that could not wait to retaliate and respond in kind to what the muslims are doing. attacking europeans and their properties in muslim countries may give reasons and justifications for the violent prone to similarly attack muslims and their properties in western countries. it is not an issue for any party to prove how violent they can be for whatever reasons. hatred begets hatred and violence begets violence.

taro aso: taiwan benefitted from colonisation

taro aso is really an arsehole. he is telling the taiwanese that being colonised by the japanese was a good thing. this is like telling a woman that being rape is a good thing. and what have chen shui bian and the rest of the taiwanese got to say about it? i think they agree. maybe japan should colonise taiwan one more time.

32 year old thinking of emigrating

why would a 32 year old professional think of emigrating and separated himself from the comfort of home and love ones? his reasoning is that the shelf life is too short here. imagine being over the hill by 40 and unable to find decent employment by 50. this is a very serious problem for professionals who spent so many years acquiring the paper qualifications only to see the end of the road staring at their faces. a 20 year working life prospect is very depressing what is happening to our system?

the botak incident was anything but racism

the shaving of the heads of several senior citizens having a game of mahjong, similar to bridge, is serious enough for a police raid and the men, ordinary citizens in their 50s and 60s, were arrested during chinese new year and bungled to the police station. a very petty crime, if there was, the men were shaved bald by the police. and what did the politicians or opposition or interest groups complained about? police abuse of power, violation of human rights, high handedness. no one dare to whisper the word, 'racism.' racism is so entrenched and institutionalised in the country that if anyone from the minority dares mentioned it will bring the wrath of the majority and the law upon him. only the majority has the privilege to use that term when they like to harass and threaten the minorities. so there is no racism. it is the police hitting back at the calls for police reformed.

life is getting tougher at home

forumer jimmy ho kwok hoong wrote a long article in today paper explaining why life is tough from birth to death in this prosperous country when unemployment rate is as low as 2 and a half per cent, and wealth and richness are on display everywhere. how can life be tough? isn't that a misconception or an irony? people are all doing very well, million dollar salaries, landed properties, driving around in mercedes and bmws, car show rooms are packed with happy customers. jimmy then listed out the struggle of a child, their parents to bring them up, and the parents lost of high paying jobs, the short lifespan of working, and the downgrading of lifestyles when one becomes unemployed. foreign worker's policies seemed to be the biggest culprit. this is supported by another forumer nelson quah who wrote that in australia, citizens and prs have priority over foreigners when employment is concerned. hey, this is alien to singaporeans. we have been following the western model of free economy and free everything, even giving our citizens' jobs to foreigners on a free competition basis. how can such things happened in australia? why are countries protecting their citizens for jobs and we think it is alright for our citizens to lose their jobs to non citizens? with the election around the corner, will the govt pay a heavy price for such a policy? or the views of the two forumers were wrong. that people are all very happy and well taken care off by the govt? looking at the confidence and happy faces of the mps and ministers, everything is fine. the people will continue to give a strong vote of confidence for the policies of the govt. now who is right?

general election: more single wards?

given the situation where grcs are no longer a sure win formula with several doubtful ministers able to carry them home, maybe there will be a slight change with more single wards being offered. this will allow more contest and a chance for the voters to exercise their rights of choice. this will be good for every one, the voters, opposition as well as the pap. for once, the seal of invincibility is no longer there. the apparent weaknesses are now exposed through years of scrapping the bottom of the barrel. not many strong leaders were churned up that can command the votes without being questioned. many are good administrators, number crunchers, playing with figures and statistics, but as people motivators, they seem to be wanting. would pap then change strategies and break up a few weaker grcs and hope to lose less instead of the whole grcs? or would pap still perceive that they are invincible in grcs with all the ministers carrying their weight? or will grcs become bigger and lesser ministers need to be called upon to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of a home run. the number of single wards being offered for contest will be the first indicator of what the real perception is.

must RI join the crowd

Letter from Elias Tan posted in Today Online. I refer to Raffles Institution's (RI) letter (Feb 1) in response to Today's article "Are the 'brains' unwilling to face defeat" (Jan 25). .It seems its communications head has, in a roundabout and verbose manner, admitted "yes". Why else would a school as rich in resources as RI say they do not have enough resources to dedicate to competitive soccer when neighbourhood schools can? .Why else would a football field (albeit only one, as RI stresses) be used for everything else under the sun — rugby, track and field, cricket — except football? Perhaps, RI should check its history books for the reason it stopped playing soccer at a competitive level. Was it because they started losing to neighbourhood schools, which was when returns on investments proved no longer viable? .Enough debating — either you play or you'll never win. And the best of luck to RI's boys who enjoy playing ball with the school staff and among themselves. why should ri play football if it chooses not to? if everyone goes to the casinos, does it mean that the rest must also do so or be censured as not team players, not one of them? there is no shame not to play football. do what you are good at and do them best. ri should continue to produce their champions in academics and in the sports that they excelled in. let those who have their brians embedded in their feet to excel and marvel in football or whatever foot related sports. let them be the maradonna or the ronaldhino. why shall the twains meet?

jack neo: i not stupid

to the english educated, jack neo's spoken english is not that refined, halting, singlish, and sometimess not so elegant. to those who do not know that he is chinese educated, jack neo's came out as not so cool, not so clever. maybe N level material. jack neo belongs to those generations of lost talents educated in the chinese medium. because of language, and their inability to be fluent in english, and a chinese certificate that the english educated could not fathom, he will probably ended up selling vcds on the roadside or in pasar malam. but talents will find its own way to surface. he was also fortunate that our media and entertainment industry were flourishing, giving him an avenue to show off his talents. he may not by an lee ang or zhang yimou yet, but he has proven that there is more in him. for those who constantly attacked the chinese helicopter stereo type, it is time to try to talk to them in chinese. it is a different world. they will find difficulty in understanding your accented english as well. would they also think that how come you not in N level stream huh?

the politicisation of islam

i have posted on this topic before. today, its relevance and the danger it poses to world peace is even more stark. the world must thank the americans for lighting the fire for a united islamic movement. not that islam was disunited. it is a very huge potent force that connects all the muslims around the world for good or bad. the muslims too have cherished the day of the revival and glory of islam and the islamic world. the recent events in europe and around the world are seeing the rise of islam as a force that will challenge the western domination of power. the usa sees china as the only power to contest for world supremacy. they forgot that they have unleased the most powerful force yet to be seen. it is not war in the conventional sense. the superpowers will not be dragged into a war of mutual assured destruction(mad). it is the continuous confrontation, skirmishes, terrorism, sabotage, and outright civil violence that will disrupt the cities around the world. the rise of islam, the unifying force of islam, is based on hatred. a hatred sowed by the western world. samuelson's clash of civilisation has begun. the west against the muslim world. now that is not going to go away by buying the arab royalties. the arab royalties will be ploughed down along the way. it is the muslim masses against the western masses that will contest this war.

crooked bridge: a defence perspective

Not only is the bridge a crucial deciding factor of Johor’s future, other analysts believe there’s a defence reason for Malaysia, too. Since former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew declaring years ago that in an event of Malaysia’s unilateral cut-off of crucial water supplies to Singapore, Singaporean tanks would move in to defend the Republic’s survival.He said If that happened, he would not wait for United Nations to intervene because by then it would be too late. Unlike the Causeway, the new replacing link will have a drawbridge that can be raised at intervals to allow ships to pass under. So even a crooked half-bridge would have a defence value for Malaysia. A raised drawbridge could stop the Singaporean tanks from crossing into Johor in the unlikely event of war. above posted by seah chiangnee in littlespeck.com we have been discussing all the economic, social and political aspects of the crooked bridge. now there is this defence angle to look at. chiangnee's view is that the malaysians are concerned that in the event of a war, the most immediate concern of the malaysians is the tanks rolling across the causeway. sounds reasonable after quoting what lky said. as for the issue of a war between the two nations, it is a possibility that both countries would avoid and would not attempt to get into. the destruction and loss of lives will be too costly for any decent thinking leader to even contemplate. war is not an option unless they are prepared to get into a brawl that will last a few generations. both will be destroyed in the process. just tension alone is disruptive enough to bankrupt the two countries. for a small country like singapore, it can never afford a war with anyone. it can only work to prevent war. assuming that it happens, and assuming that the tanks rolled across and occupied the state of johore, what next? the state of hostility will be perpetual. and there is also the element of the indonesians. there is no way for singapore to flirt with such a thought unless it is provoked, like chen shui bian provoking china through a declaration of independence. what can malaysia do to force singapore into a hobson's choice? is there a reason for malaysia to fear tanks rolling across the causeway? only one. and that is the cutting off of water supply by whatever means or pretext. do the malaysians have any such schemes up their sleeves to worry about provoking singapore to make a death plunge? now that is a good question to ponder over.

nude squat, snoop squad to botak squad

the nude squat and snoop squad incidents have barely faded from people's memory and now botak squad is the latest that surrounds the infamous police of malaysia. is malaysia returning to the medieval age? with the death of the msc and the waning of mahathir's drive to 2020, a modern malaysia, the dreams are fast fading away. the comfort of returning to the behaviour of kampong chiefs are easier to adapt to. what is all these difficult things called human rights and international behavioural norms? why must the police behave like decent and sophisticated law enforcer, as protector of the citizens? the police is the power to be used to deal with whoever they liked. even giving the dpm a black eye. so shaving bald the heads of innocent citizens having a little fun in the privacy of closed doors is the right thing to do. it is the duty and responsibility of the police. it is a big operation executed in the most professional way with the full force of the police paid by tax payers money. the country is so crime free that the police must find something better to do. will we see people being publicly whipped or burn on the stake? akan datang.

charisma in leadership

leadership comes in many forms, but the strongest and most influential of leadership is perhaps the personality of the leader and how this is projected and perceived by the people. a powerful and charismatic personality is undeniably a tremendous asset to have. we have seen many such personalities in the past. they carried themselves around as undisputed leaders, man of man. they do not have to shout or keep telling people i am the man. they are natural leaders. they have developed a certain aura around them. unwritten, unmentioned, but felt. lky, keng swee, chin chye, raja, pang boon, sui sen, chok tong, teng cheong, tony are among the names that will just pop up when people asked about the leaders of singapore. and in an election, throwing their names will be as good as winning the election. such are the qualities of leadership that cannot be explained, and cannot be taught. the academics may be having courses in grooming leaders, telling people what are the qualities and characteristics of good leaders. they can go as far as identifying them. but to transfer these qualities into another person who just don't have it will only fail. we have many new leaders among the ministers. how many have such qualities? many are outright no. as simple as that. remove the title and they will be lost, unrecognised by anyone in the street. will people stand up and listen to them when they talked without wearing the title? that will be the real test of a leader. that is the quality of leadership. the impression is that what we are having are administrators or leadership by virtue of position or title. the leadership comes with the job or title. remove the job or title, nothing is left. a few have the potential, but too new and yet to be truly felt. somehow, for these latter batches, this aura of power and leadership takes a bit longer to form. you can see them in say hsien loong, tharman, boon wan, chee hian, who else? scratching my head to feel that kind of dominance of personality as the leaders of the people... given a bit more time, maybe a few will grow and develop their influence while in their jobs. but as of now, throw some of them to lead a grc and it does not mean anything. they do not carry the weight to give the impression that with their presence, the grc is as good as won.

racial harmony or peaceful coexistence

a forumer, michael heng, wrote in the straits times lamenting that his son did not have a malay friend in his school. he is worried that his son will not be able to understand his malay friends and their culture etc. such atrocious situation shall not have happened. such parents must send their children to a school where there are more malay students so that their sons will grow up in the company of malay friends. if they did not do so they will undermine our objective of racial harmony and peaceful coexistence among the different races. and if they are stubborn, like michael heng, and keep their sons in such schools, they should be caned. and schools that have few malay students must make special effort to recruit more malay students or students from minority groups into their cohorts. or the principal must be made to explain why they have failed to do so. now am i making sense?

general election: prelim round 5

after the initial exchanges of a few blows, all has quieten down. both sides are reassessing their positions. who has done the right things and is on the upper hand after the brief encounter? pap started by attacking the wp manifesto as a time bomb and a poison and demanded condescendingly that the wp must change its manifesto or else. it is a talk down tactic by the strong against the weak and it puts the wp on the defensive, giving the impression that wp has erred seriously and pap knows best. this immediately drew response from the opposition as a high and mighty attitude and undemocratic. a bullying tactic. how are all these gesturings being perceived by the voters? would the voters bite the pap reasoning and say yes wp is dangerous and up to no good. cannot be trusted to be given the vote. or would the voters said, well, all these are political stance and may even say, stop the bullying. if the later, then it will put the pap in a not so comfortable start. a big bully small contest. and then there were some follow up comments that pap sure win. would this be taken by the voters as jumping the gun or taking them for granted? arrogance? the issues are simmering and probably both parties are discussing their positions after the initial standoff. anyone gains an upper hand?

islam tested in europe

the current rift in denmark over the caricature of the prophet mohammed is gearing up for an ugly fight. according to islam, no image of the prophet is allowed. this is banned. and the danish paper made caricatures of the prophet is a violation of islamic laws. this is now a boiling issue and could become nasty as the muslims felt very offended. the european papers' position is that it is freedom of the press to write or present whatever to the readers. and they defended themselves by asking whether islamic law applies to non muslims. if it is banned by islam, does it mean that it is banned to non muslim as well. now this is a little tricky. islam bans the eating of pork. when non muslims eat pork does it offend the muslims? obviously it does. but does it allow the muslims to demand the non muslim not to eat pork? where is the line drawn? it is reported in the press that a cleric said the danish paper's caricature was not done for press freedom but to offend muslim. does this distinction means that if it is done not to offend but say for a genuinely decent purpose like the teaching of islam, would it then be ok for non muslims to use images of the prophet? when does the sensitivity of muslims stops and why should non muslims be subject to the same restrictions as muslims?

banks are not for poor people

we used to have a people's bank or a poor man's bank. it started as a poor bank and accept poor man's money. even school children's pocket money of a few cents and pasted as stamps. that was how the poor man's bank started. today this poor man's bank has forgotten all the poor men who helped to build it up into a rich bank and becomes a rich man's bank. it does not welcome children's little savings anymore. or it does but make sure that it is more than a certain amount. and any poor man who thinks of putting a few hundred dollars into the bank may end up with no money after paying administrative fee for having too little money in his bank account. instead of earning an interest, the bank levy a fee for putting too little money there. this is the price of progress. no money no talk. the poor man's bank now would not even want to know you. so poor people with a few dollars of savings better keep it under their pillows or in plastic containers and hide them somewhere at home. would there be a day when the banks go back to woo the poor man? ingrates?

not govt's responsibility to help the poor

we have heard this statement many times. it is not the govt's responsibility to help the poor. the govt will only help the poor when there is a surplus in the budget or in the govt's investment. is such a position acceptable to the people? what is the role of the govt towards the poor of the country, assuming that there is no surplus to be given away?

the poor indians in singapore

There are many complaints and unhappiness among the Singapore born Indian community. Tamil phrase: "Mattam mana allu" English translation means the old man Lky is a lousy cheapskate fellow. Tamil phrase : "Mavan vanthe methevangalum othevee saye oode mathan avanum oothevee saye mathan" English Translation : The "son" Lhl is a more cheapskate fellow than the father, he also wont help the others much and does not let anyone help the other's much also Tamil phrase : "Lalle velai vangete adimai yakirvanu" English translation: They make use of you do the work for them and make you a slave and pay you very little or play games and don't pay you at all or give useless gimmicks. What is going to be done to help livelihood of the "groups" and societies of Singapore particularly among the Singapore born Indian community ? Where is the action required, where is the help, where is the closure on unresolved problems , where are the results ? Who or which People should be held answerable ? Jason Vincent i have extracted a part of jason vincent's article posted in soc.cul.spore. what jason has posted is that the indian community is feeling very neglected by the govt. he even suggested building 2 shopping centres and several other facilities for the indian community. now this is a problem isn't it?

wage gap will continue to widen

there is this peculiar practice in singapore that will ensure the wage gap will continue to widen. it is entrenched in the system. the more important or senior a person becomes, he can expect to be appointed to many chairmanship positions or figure head positions and be paid extremely well but without much to do. some of these positions are just honorary, but still pack a huge pay packet. so it is very easy to earn several chairmanship pay and leave the job of running the company to the professionals. what a nice perk! how then can the wage gap gets narrower? it cannot be helped? is it? this is what unequal distribution of wealth is all about. you got more money, people give you more money. and what's wrong with that? why can't these important jobs be really important and the incumbent has to contribute time and effort to justify his huge pay so he can only assume one position and more can be pass around? but then there is a dearth of talent in this nation where the high density of people with high paper qualifications are found to be lack of talent. so only a few rare breed have the talent to receive such easy remunerations. do these positions really need highly qualified people in the first place? but, come to think of it, there is nothing wrong. this is the natural order of things. even a genius will tell you that it is perfectly normal and the correct way to do things.

why should govt act to ensure political freedom?

a straits times forumer, teoh chin leong, asked this question after commenting on catherine lim's article on political freedom. he said catherine lim has not answered this question? i was taken aback by his question. did he mean that limited freedom is accepted and the people must give good reasons for the govt to allow political freedom? isn't political freedom the people's basic right and any govt curbing political freedom is taking away the right of the people? is this the mindset of singaporeans? so well bred to be obedient, to be restrained. even accepting that they should be limited political freedom when freedom was theirs in the first place. such mindset concedes that it is ok for one's political right to be taken away. teoh chin leong did discuss a little on the need for political freedom. but his conclusion is that singaporeans are not ready for political freedom, that political freedom must be conditional on an educated society and a people who can discussed dispassionately on political issues. i am very sad to think that educated singaporeans think this way. how many countries can boast of a literacy rate higher than us? how many countries can boast of a concentration of people with tertiary education like us? if we are not an educated society, who is? the sheep will be led to the slaughter. and all they can say is bah bah and bah.