ge round 26: qualilty of pap candidates

I couldn't believe when I heard the comments over TV about the quality of PAP candidates. Some even remarked whether they can do the job. My view is very simple. These are the best brains in their professions. They are people who have proven that they can work and can be successful. Their credentials are impeccable. Only reservation, which no one is wiser, is whether among them is another NKF potential. Other than a personal flaw that may surface over time, these are people that can and will do very well in their careers. Lets not doubt their abilities and intelligence. The only problem with such excellent profesionals coming into politics is the system of manpower management and allocation in a talent deprived nation. By our size, we have very limited talents in all fields. I find it a very bad idea to put these brilliant men and women into politics at a time when they are just peaking in their chosen fields. Allow me to elaborate. The general career pattern of a professional singaporean will conform to this pattern. At 25 to 35 years, a learning and skill acquisition phase where they try to establish themselves in their work. 35 to 45, established and accepted as a bright star or a potential bright star. 45 to 55, achievements and recognised as a leader in their respective fields. 55 to 70, assume leadership in society, in politics, business, trade or community. This last group is what I would think is the ideal final phase for a talented individual before he faded away. What the PAP system is doing is actually upsetting the naturally development of people and their career development. Pulling people in the 35 to 45 age group into politics is a bad move. First, they are just reaching the peak of their career but not really there. And uprooting them into politics will deprive them from achieving greatness in their profession. The profession will also be deprived of a rare talent and suffers as well. And because they were nearly there, they could not acquire all the dues, monetary and reputation, which are due to them. They will enter politics hungry, or fairly hungry, in money terms and in personal achievements in their trades. Yes they can gain fame and money in politics too. But that should not be their motivation. Politics is to serve, to help chart the nation, and at times can be very demanding and requires self sacrifices in many areas. These brilliant young people are expected to sacrifice their chosen professional career, family, and money. And if they come into politics thinking that money can be compensated, then it is bad for them and for the people. If they take the natural path, develop and acquire fame and achievements and earn all the money they deserved from 35 to 55, and then having done what they have done as a successful and recognised leaders in their fields, they can then come into politics, wiser, stable, secure and rich in their bank accounts and assets, they could be great leaders without craving for fame and money. And the nation will benefit from their professional contributions at their best. Now coming into politics when they are half way there, and have to quit politics probably in their late fifties, they ended up neither here nor there. This is a sheer waste of talent and our precious human resource. This, in my view, is a system fault. The system is upsetting the apple cart. I would agree that not all should follow a standard pattern of progression in their life/career. But to institutionalise or systemise this is not very good in the long run. When these good men are disrupted and asked to give way to new blood when they are in their fifties, they will be hanging in midair, neither here nor there. Ok, they can line up as directors of companies and use their contacts as leverage to earn director fees. This is hardly an option that will benefit from their real talents. A rather parasitic relationship.

a japanese plea

Kazuo Ogoura, a retired Japanese diplomat, wrote a passionate plea in the Straits Times on why China must support Japan's quest for a seat as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. In his four reasons, he said that it is in the interest of China to support Japan's entry. Not only that his reasons were wishy washy and unconvincing. Not only that the historical records of Japanese militarism was nothing but savagery that it is difficult for China to support Japan, the Japanese could not understand why China will not give them an inch to get into the UNSC. And it is not even the shrine visiting that makes the Chinese to look at Japan with disfavour. It is the deliberate military alliance with the Americans that puts Japan as the most dangerous country to China's security interest. How could China bring a wolf into the UNSC when the wolf has chosen to stay on the side of a bigger bad wolf and would together attack China if needed to? Japan has chosen to be China's number One enemy by choice. It sided with the Americans in practically every issue against China. It also signed a military pact with the Americans to protect Taiwan, an outrageous act that China is tolerating for the moment but will one day be used to kick the Japanese arse. It is the most blatant hostile act by Japan against China. And Japan wants China to support its entry into the UNSC to collude and attack China or undermine China's interest? Even the Americans have great reservation about the risk of a Japanese presence in the UNSC and refused to support it. Then why would China want to support Japan when Japan's number one military ally refused to support her?

welcome to malaysia

to all our visitors, welcome to malaysia. as we become islamised daily, it is a matter of time before we will become a full islamic state. for the time being, public hugging and kissing are now an offence in malaysia and those indulging in such activities publicly can be jailed for one year. more islamic laws and moral conducts will be introduced in a matter of time and we will keep all our visitors duly informed to prevent them from running foul of our islamic laws. please enjoy our hospitality. inshallah.

ge round 25: follow my rules

Wong Kan Seng has repeated the call to opposition parties to introduce their candidates for public scrutiny, just like what the PAP has been doing. This may not be the official election ruling, but it is the rules that PAP abides by. And oppositions are told to follow. Low Thia Khiang replied by saying, lets show hands. You don't hide the election date, tell us and we all show hands. What else does the PAP wants the opposition to be open? What else does the opposition wants the PAP to be open? Let's all be open. Everybody open cards and play open poker.

cyberspace and cybercitizens

Cyberspace starts with the 3 simple alphabets, www, which means world wide web. A person nagivating through cyberspace, is actually moving in a virtual world, in a different dimension. His address is a virtual address, nothing physical. He is actually a citizen of a virtual world, unconfined or unlimited by physical space. A cyberbeing actually resides no where if he does not state where is his residence. Or he could register his residence in any nooks or corners of the world. Or he could actually create a fictitious country with a fictitious address. Welcome to cyberspace and cyberbeings and cybercitizens. Can any country claim authority over such cybercitizens? Can they really think that they have jurisidiction over cyberbeings if the cyberbeing chooses to reside in virtual space? A blogger or forumer in cyberspace posts or speaks to the world and not to a particular country or remain in a particular country. www connects everyone in cyberworld into one world, no boundaries, no govt, no laws. Why should cybercitizens register with national bodies and subject themselves to the rules and laws of a country when their existence is in a virtual world?

ge round 24: waiting for balaji

It is not a matter of registering or not to register. Singaporeans must not continue to behave like the pavlov's animal. When a bell rings they will behave exactly how they have behaved before. When the govt said register, and all starts running to register without thinking if they need to. Just register for safety. Don't play with the law. And they do not bother to ask whether they need to register. When are Singaporeans going to start to think, to question? I am not trying to be rebellious by not registering. I just want to know if I need to register. The whole blogosphere is asking for a clearer definition of who should register. The govt needs to come forward and make it clear to the people. We have all been talking about transparency, communication, feedback, and this is what is needed now. It is the responsibility of the govt to make the rules clear to the people. They cannot come out with something wishy washy and let the people try to figure out what it means. Every blogger and forumer is waiting for a clarification from Balaji.

round 23:can this blog continue to post during election?

podcasting not allowed.. bloggers can discuss politics, but must register with the media department authority if they persistently promote political view.. now that would cover everything under the sky.. what are political views? it can mean anything, from a mp taking lunch at a food court to how many times a mp goes to the toilet. and do people in kopitiams talking politics also need to register with mda? so much for more freedom of expression.. why are singaporeans not allow to talk about singapore politics? this is our life, our country.. barring foreigners from interferring with our politics maybe acceptable.. but to gag singaporeans on talking politics is unacceptable.. oh, singaporeans have been blamed for being apathetic about politics huh? singaporeans not interested about what is happening in singapore? and when singaporeans talk about singapore's affairs, must register with mda? now who is killing singaporeans interest in our national affairs? is this the way to encourage singaporeans to be interested in how the country is being run? come on, the country belongs to singaporeans and concerned singaporeans must be allowed to discuss what is happening to the country and to comment on things that are unacceptable or wrong.. speak out about issues that concerned them.. or all these calls about speaking out are not meant to be taken seriously? how would it be if there is a clean sweep? or maybe all singaporeans should shut up and forget about what is happening to the country.. is that what liberalisation means? what opening up means? are we progressing? or do we want to head the way myanmar is heading?

new discovery - cpf rulings are rigid!

wow. finally the mps discovered that cpf rulings are too rigid.. and these include prohibition from withdrawing money to pay for a member's last hospitalisation bill.. didn't know that such rulings can exist. we got to thank eng hen for introducing some flexibility to reduce the difficulties faced by cpf members especially those who are terminally ill.. for this group they can withdraw their cpf earlier.. now ain't them lucky.. now there is an excuse for early withdrawal.. when one is limp. for the restrictive cpf regulations to continue for so long without it being addressed in parliament would be a good case for more genuine opposition candidates.. just wondering why the ruling party mps did not raise them or just discover them. maybe with eng hen's willingness to introduce more flexibilities, all the tough rules and regulations in cpf will be a thing of the past.. all it needs is a good minister to change them, or the alternative is for genuine opposition mps to raise them in parliament..

higher toll at the causeway

it is about time malaysia put a stop to singaporeans going over to pump cheap petrol and buying cheap local products, and enjoying cheaper hospitality and services.. for every trip that a singaporean drives in, he will save at least $20.. and if he goes to the maximum, he could save even $50.. and all at the expense of malaysia. now this is not good.. how can singaporeans go over and take advantage of a cheaper ringgit and lower cost in malaysia? malaysia is right to level the difference. malaysia is now pondering on levelling a $20 ringgit for every car that goes into malaysia, including the thais.. that is the wisest thing they have come up with after all these years.. in fact $20 ringgit is too low.. a reasonable and more equitable sum shall be $50 ringgit per car.. and when the new causeway bridge is up, then it should be $100 ringgit per car.. anyway for those singaporeans who have to go over, they have no choice but to go.. so malaysia must be brave enough to charge what is fair to them.. and singaporeans can afford to pay. and they must increase to $50 ringgit now.. then by the time the bridge is ready, they can add another $50 ringgits.. to increase all to $100 ringgit in one go is too much.. learn from singapore, increase a bit every year.. $50 now, next year $60, then $70, and when the bridge is operational, $100. that's the way to go.. why make your goods and services cheaper than singapore for singaporeans to take advantage of? if malaysia did not charge singaporeans more, than it is an unfair situation and malaysia is on the losing end.

asean unhappy with india and china

asean is unhappy with india and china for not interfering or putting pressure on myanmar to take the democratic road and allow more freedom and rights to her people. having failed in all attempts, the next logical thing for asean is to do a regime change.. and since asean is so adamant in interfering with myanmar's domestic affair, it should go all the way.. but asean cannot use the wmd formula to invade myanmar.. the formula has been found unworkable and myanmar definitely has no wmd.. unless of course cultivating and selling opium can be considered wmd. maybe asean should seek the advice from george bush or rice.. they would have better and more ingenious solution to the myanmar problem.. but asean must not forget that interfering in other nation's domestic affairs run counter to asean's principle of non interference and could set a precedence for other big powers to interfer in asean state and even do a regime change.

ge round 22: nkf saga

khaw boon wan is confident that he can defend the nkf saga if the opposition raises it as an issue during the general election.. he said singaporeans are not stupid and know who are the good guys and bad guys and who 'allowed' the all the facts to be exposed, and who saved nkf. when the rally is in full swing, i am sure he will be made to tell the full story of how it started, who brought in durai, who nurtured and supported him, who allowed him to go to the extend unchecked, who praised him and glorified him, and who think he did no wrong. in normal circumstances, after the laying out of facts and all the right things and good things were said, the people can expect to be told to close the case and move on. but in an election, it is not so simple as that.. the people might not be stupid.. the people might be well read.. but the people are people.. and they can choose what they want to believe and who to believe.. they can even choose to believe the sensational.. do i mean that they can believe falsehood? they could.. and they could believe in anything.. a fiery and articulate speaker can change everything. and then they go to vote.. if the people choose to believe white is black or is grey, and they can, the nkf saga can lead to controversial results.. it is easy to turn a bad case into one's favour when one can say, 'it's over, let's move on.' and the critics have no means of reply and could not do anything. in an election rally, the opposition can have their voices and objections heard.. that is a major difference.. so it is not that easy to paint a beautiful picture when both sides can add in their strokes and colours.

ge round 21: one party rule is good

raymond lim told his grassroot leaders that simply having opposition in the govt has no absolute merit in itself.. this is a fair statement.. having an opposition in parliament is not the cure for any govt.. the opposition has to be of substance.. then again, to dismiss the need for an opposition in any govt, democracy or totalitarian state or a dictatorship, is a simple recipe for horror, for the abuse of power.. not that we are having these problems now.. but it will make it so easy to go down the abyss.. for any political system to endure the ravages of time, it has to have in built systems of checks and balances.. the checks and balances must be institutionalised.. and that is what the american system is all about.. the flaws and dangers of absolute power were the preoccupation of the founding fathers of america and they have enshrined in their constitutions that no one, or no one organisation, is to have absolute power. this is wisdom of the ages.. to ignore this and tell people that a one party system is good, is being very shortsighted and dangerous. singapore needs to have oppositions in the parliament.. the judiciary, legislature and the executive arms, and the civil servants must be able to work independently when it needs to.. these must be institutionalised and be a sacred feature of our nation.. if we are to accept that just because at the moment we have a fairly decent govt and leadership, then this model of a one party govt is good forever.. and that is a good reason to strive towards a one party govt... if we ever do that or reach that stage, we will ruin our own future.. the future generation will suffer from our folly. much as there is no absolute merit in having opposition mps, there is no absolute merit in having a one party rule..

genting international, a casino giant

genting international's $5 billion package for the marina casino makes many people salivate.. how could a little casino operator afford to fork out that kind of money in a single project, and all private fund.. not money printed by the govt.. lim goh tong is standing tall against the american and international giants in his bid for a stake in the budding casino industry in singapore and the region.. and his bid is practically all from his own group of companies.. unlike sands and harrahs or mgm who share the cost with local property developers.. this is what individual enterprise is all about.. the wisdom, the foresight, the hard work, the business acumen and a little luck and plenty of guts to put in the money, mainly his own money. no govt to nanny or to pull all the strings. the only thing bad about lim goh tong is that he is one of the statistics that provide the impetus for the 9th malaysian racist economics plan.. his assets, and the few like him, will add to tip the scale in favour of the non bumiputras as if all non bumiputras are as rich as him.. and the ambitious bumiputras all wanted to be like him or at least have his wealth by telling the govt how to take it from the country.. people who cannot create wealth or did not have the knowhow or willingness to slog for it will find the money that they grabbed without sweating for it quickly slips away.. wealth creation and making money is not simply ask and be given.. or perhaps yes, ask and be given but be lost in no time. that is what the 9th economic plan will try to do.

diplomacy of flirtation

it is reported that the usa might have to back out or amend the nuclear arms deal with india.. looks like the solicitation of rice in india and indonesia may be stopped in its path and bush's diplomacy of flirtation is off.. this wild gambit of sleeping with your potential enemies can only come from a desperate regime that cannot find a better way out of the corner it has painted itself into.. the grandeur plans of an empire is cracking up.

ge round 20: no one is left behind

yesterday hsien loong said the govt to press on to make sure no one is left behind as singapore progress.. and the purpose of the workfare bonus as reported, 'the bonus, which rewards regular and productive work bythese workers aged 40 and above...' and people working odd jobs will also be regarded as productive, not minding the fact that their work is not regular.. then those full time housewives, whose work is regular, are not considered productive and will not get any workfare bonus. is there anybody left behind when a whole army of full time housewives are written off as not productive?

ge round 19: flair and individuality

the latest three candidates gave a refreshing turn to the otherwise heard it before or seen it before scenario. first there is this landed property lawyer who wants to return something to society.. alright this tune is what sai siong did not want to hear.. but he was not one who benefitted from government scholarship and trying to repay society.. though he claimed that his father was not rich, well, a landed property in bukit timah cannot be poor either.. presumably he went overseas on his father's scholarship. the best statement from palmer: 'so, i can't see why they say there's no level playing field.' he will probably not be able to see many more things if he can't see the unlevel playing field now. then there is this good looking part time model who could not sleep after being humbled by shanmugam and knew what his calling is, to serve the people.. ain't this script more interesting?.. a young man so awed by a politician that he had to step forward to serve. the third candidate is every inch a pap.. the way she speaks, thinks and talks, gave the impression that she is a pap veteran, fought, grown and contributed to the success story of pap and singapore.. i like the way she put forward her position.. we are good, and if the opposition cannot catch up it's their problem.. there is no need to apologise for being good, or for the opposition to being not good enough.. she is what pap is, frank, honest and straight to the point, no beating around the bush.. we are good and the opposition needs to shape up or be left behind. the election rally is going to be interesting

the sun rises from the west

i saw in the news last night that singapore power is cutting its rate for 3 months.. never in my life would i believe this is possible. we need to have general elections every year.. then the people will have a better and easier time.

a half causeway is not a causeway

syed hamid did the sensible thing by asking malaysian politicians not to make comments on the bridge while the negotiation is still on.. this is different from the gagging of non muslims from discussing islam.. the appeal to tone down the heated talks is to help the negotiation process. as for the cutting of the causeway, lets look at it from another angle.. if both parties are owners of a house or bridge, can one party decide unilaterally to cut it into two? a half house or half bridge is neither a house or a bridge.. this is not just breaking down a dividing wall. when a bridge is no longer a bridge, or when a causeway is no longer a causeway, there is a change in its utility.. would the party causing the change and a loss of value to the causeway be made to compensate the other party? would the party who made the bridge or house no longer a house pay for the damage or loss in value? even if the bridge or house is now connected to a new structure, it is no longer the same bridge or house.. the causeway in this case is no longer a causeway but a hybrid, like a liger.

ge round seventeen: a nightmare?

tan sai siong's article in today's paper asks this question - 'whose worst nightmare will it be if the pap makes a clean sweep at the next general election and,...?' in her view it will be the nightmare of chiam and low thia khiang as it will prove that the voters do not appreciate what they have done all these years. in my view it will be the worst nightmare for singaporeans.. the reasons do not need much imagination and i would leave everyone to ponder over the consequences. the gist of sai siong's article is that the singapore system of a one party dominating the political system with a clean sweep is an excellent model that we shall be proud off and can sell to the world that it is an alternative to the western bi polar or multi polar systems. she could not see any flaw in such a virtuous system.. how could anyone see the flaws? i mean how could anyone taking a king's feast everyday see any wrong with having a king's feast everyday? and she added, despite dispelling the need for opposition members, that our system ensures 3 dud ncmps and several appointed nmps as effective voices for opposing views.. they are voices no doubt.. and voices but nothing more. anyway, everyone is entitled to his own opinion of what is the best system for singapore.. matilah would want anarchism.. so sai siong would love to have a 100% one party system.. it is a personal choice.. i am feeling the nightmare creeping up my spine.

ge round sixteen: carrots, sticks and chaperon

it is all good for sitoh to have choktong to carry him up in parliament, to be seen and to be heard.. the assumption here is that choktong is guaranteed to be in parliament.. i am not doubting that he will not win his grc.. for choktong to win his grc, his chances are hundred times better than tiger woods winning his tournament.. but before the ball goes into the cup, anything can happen.. there are obs that are not part of the game to contend with.. tiger loses last weekend because his heart was with his father. and choktong is encouraging sitoh and eric to speak their minds.. and probably behave a little like opposition candidates.. but just be careful and don't get carried away when they do it.. check with amy first on what to say and what not to say. and the gamemanship of lose i quit is in play again.. first we got steve chia saying he will quit if he loses.. now eric low also say so.. maybe chiam should also tell his voters that this is his last election and if not elected he will not be standing anymore..

ge round fifteen: lets be gay

after giving up his pmship, choktong is now more relax, and putting on weight as well.. and he is starting to make jokes even in a general election campaign.. that's good for him. his latest is to tell the voters in hougang and potong pasir that eric and sitoh can act as opposition members in parliament if they got voted.. that would give the voters who has nothing to look for in an mp but just want an opposing voice another way of voting for the pap. this reminds me of a gay marriage where one gay will act the part of a woman.. so there is a male and a female.. but would there be a child in the outcome, will there be any fruit? it is a sterile exercise. but what is very telling during the weekend discourse is that no pap candidate, no upgrading.. potong pasir no upgrading after 38 years and will not have any if chiam is reelected.. or maybe tan ku ku.. and hougang can only be beautiful when eric is elected. another comment by charles chong that there would not be many occasions in which pap mps personal convictions differ from the party and if there are then they should resign, is not very good for mps who claimed to have different views of things.. and neither will it make much difference for pap mps to act as opposition mps when the core values are the same.

tudung compulsory for malaysian policewoman

abdullah badawi confirmed that tudung is compulsory, not optional, for non muslim women in the police force.. and this happens only after a few weeks ago when najib said tudung was not compulsory in schools.. why are the malaysians so obsessed with their women covering up? why is songkok acceptable as an official dress in parliament and official functions? the distinction is that one being a part of the national character and national dress.. tudung is not really a part of the malay culture but a middle east import with religious connotations. it is not only that, compare to the malay scarf that the malay ladies used to wear, one is graceful and feminine, the other is ugly and distasteful.. the tudung is a vestige of the medieval past when women were a sex object of the men, a possession, to be covered up for the private entertainment of the male owner..it is actually quite derogatory to subject women to such a backward practice of male dominance and sexual inequality. in our hot tropical climate, the thick and dark piece of sack is very unhealthy.. couple with the perspiration, it smells.. try following a tudung down a escalator in a hot day.. unless the wearer changes it daily and is not the sweaty type, the 'ba ool' is very unpleasant. wrapping one's head in thick cloth is very unpractical.. even the sikhs are slowly giving up their cultural turban for a short clean cut.. the human specie always adapt things for their betterment, to go forward, not backward. the tudung is not only a step backward in hygiene and practicallity, it is to extend and continue the subjugation of the women by men.. the men takes great pride in imposing their will on their weaker womenfolks.. it is very sad that a modern intellectual like badawi would succumb to such a medieval practice.. and it is sadder to see the modern malay women wearing this badge of inequality with pride. could these women think for themselves and stop allowing the men to dictate what is good for the men and bad for the women?

teachers blogging! should they be doing it?

sunday times lifestyle has a page screaming 'teachers are blogging - should they be doing at all?' the immediate impression is that blogging has the same status as smoking and drinking for the underage, or even teen sex.. why is blogging seen as something so negative? some of the words used to describe bloggings are self explanatory - blogging is a minefield, teachers blogging seen as unprofessional, gripings about personal lives, gossips, flaming, a can of worms, bitching, etc and yes, cursing and swearings.. blogging is a bad influence and has a very bad image, like videoing self performing sex on a handphone.. blogging, including posting in forums should be avoided. but there are teachers who use class blogs very effectively as a channel of communication with the class, students and teachers, disseminating information and exchange notes and views.. blogs and forums are just a convenient tool, like the internet and handphone.. it is the users that bring along the bad image of the tools. look at some of the blogs, especially ypap.. should forums be in that form? are our educated, with tertiary education, that bad, that they think that it is cool or the right way of expressing themselves? the cruder, the more vulgar, the more cool and respectable? isn't education suppose to turn animals into respectable men? sip tea, drink wine, go to concert, fine dinner and fine company? or university education is meant to turn adults into the same mould as those uncles and aunties in the kopitiams? screaming vulgarities and spitting and littering everywhere? why are there people who choose to pay hundreds of thousands to be in exclusive clubs? one thing for sure, a member cannot be a misfit in such surroundings.. there will be a bit of decorum and respectability, social grace and good manners. blogs and forums too can be a cool place in all the right notes and colours. i need decent bloggers and forumers to help me develop www.redbeanforum.com into a decent and cool place for a chat.

we need a decent forum

why must an uncontrolled forum ended up in a mess? i have seen many forums and found that everyone eventually became a place for forumers to hurl expletives at each other.. profanity seems to be the end result even with highly educated and knowledgeable people. the only forum where forumers chat without ending in a vulgar and personal combat will be those that are controlled.. the channelnewsasia forum is one of such.. and it has quite a good bunch of forumers there, all implicitly accepting the control and living with it.. and they chose for their posts to be vetted and clear by the moderators. this simply proves that a totally unrestrained forum is not the cup of tea for everyone.. and also, a totally free and unrestrained forum cannot exist.. the natural tendency is that it will either turn bad or need to be controlled to remain decent. i am experimenting here to have a forum without rules and that freedom of speech can exist with people chatting together, and not being abused or attacked wildly by other forumers. can such a thing be a reality? can anarchy exist or that it is an idealistic dream? i need all forumers who cherish their freedom of expression to support me in this quest.. to be able to post in a forum that does not need control or to approve postings. is this such a difficult thing to do? all i am asking is a little self restrain by not attacking another person, and not to use expletives and think it is cool.. and not to avoid it and think that it is decent not to do so.. just be natural and expressive and let others be comfortable while chatting with you. lets be a friendly community, disagree and still be on good terms. can there be a safe haven for freedom of expression? i want redbeanforum to be one such place.

bear not allowed on the street

a guy dressed up in a bear suit with a placard saying 'god save the bear' was hauled away. i can't believe that a bear would require the attention of our police and be hauled away.. is a bear as dangerous as the white elephants in buangkok or school girls selling white elephant t shirts? is this what irene ng meant when she said, 'all singaporeans are free to voice their opinions and form associations and, indeed, are encouraged to engage actively in politics if they feel so inclined..' what she meant actually is - no white elephants or bears or t shirts, but... for singaporeans to 'put forward his suggestions, and get either the pap or opposition politicians to raise them in parliament, or contest elections...' irene was responding to a writer, david cai, who claimed that the 'image problem' of singapore is due the ruling party's "hardline management of political dissent," that speaking out against the govt is like treading on a minefield - one miscalculated step and one would be like jbj or chee soon juan. apparently the freedom of expression, or the way freedom of expression can be conducted, are perceived differently. irene could actually point to the ypap forum and said singapore has the freeist forum in the world.. but a martyn see will be a problem.

an honest survey in malaysia

an independent merdeka centre for opinion research survey found negative stereotyping of race was deeply entrenched.. among the findings were: malays were lazy, chinese were greedy and indians cannot be trusted. reading the other way round, malays were not greedy and can be trusted.. chinese were not lazy and can also be trusted.. indians were not lazy and also not greedy.. mind you, this is an honest survey.. i am not sure how much money spent and how much effort put in to produce such an enlightening survey and reports that the little kids knew all the time. the survey also found that the policies of favouring malays have resulted in envy and resentment.. thanks for the survey.. otherwise nobody will know that there are envy and resentment.. but then the honest survey describes the malay as honest, not greedy but lazy.. and if there is no malay favouring policies, then the malays will be cheated, and will be poor as they are not greedy and also lazy.. the survey actually confirms that the malays must be helped by govt policies forever.

ge round fourteen

pap introduces 3 new candidates.. very impressive young people with very strong credentials..31 year old zaqy appeared to be someone the malay community can look forward to for something big.. he comes out as a very confident young professional.. the new breed of malay professionals that the country is producing. wee kiat also came out very well and so did denise, just a little ah so. let's hope the opposition parties could introduce similar calibre candidates.. going by the trend it is unlikely as the cream will be creamed off by the pap.. or those who consider themselves good enough would rather join the winning bandwagon. professional qualifications and a squeaky clean image are what pap candidates will have.. first impression is always very good. and they repeated what sai siong did not want to hear.. that they want to contribute to society.. now sai siong is being unfair to want to hear something different when the mould is the same.. you will only see the flair of wildness or maverick in the opposition parties.. like yaw shin leong having a heated argument with his party chief low thia khiang.. you cannot possibly have such a thing happening in the pap right? the pecking order is so clear cut.. the best are at the top.. and authority has to be respected.

human husbandry

singapore is strategically positioned to be a leading player in the human husbandry industry.. we have everything that is needed to have a flying start.. the infrastructure, the high tech laboratories, the state of the art equipment, the molecular scientists and engineers, research scientists, and an excellent base of talents to provide the semen. we have foreign talents, either from europe, india or china.. we have local talents, all straight A materials.. after farming them, there is a ready market in some neighbouring countries that did not have too many of such talents.. they want engineers, scientists, mathematicians, civil servants, scholars, and even politicians, just name them and we have the stocks.. all pedigree material. i think this is going to be the industry of the future.. and many countries would want to secure the best talents for their future.. actually singapore can also harvest these for its own needs and can be self sufficient in the long run for talents.. then no need to depend on import foreign talents : )

a new containment strategy

in the days of the cold war, the americans were relatively able to contain the soviet union and china for a while.. and in that effort they built a perimeter wall consisting of nato, cento and seato countries.. these include european, middle eastern and south east asian countries, and also taiwan, south korea and japan. it was a fairly tight ring of allies that prevented the ussr and china from operating outside of their national boundaries.. but eventually it also failed.. with the collapse of south vietnam, it was all over. and now a new containment strategy is developed just to contain a rising china.. its members will be nato, nothing left of cento or seato, but possibly india and indonesia and a reluctant australia.. then taiwan and japan but no south korea, who is still fuming mad with the americans for not allowing them to reunite with their northern brothers. now what do we have of this new chain of allies? no, there is no hole in the containment ring, but huge gaps of empty space.. so much of a containment strategy from a brilliant team headed by a brilliant anti communist ideologist in the name of rice and a brilliant president in bush.. and they believe it will succeed in containing china.. they still believe the asians are still as stupid as when they were colonies of western powers to be manipulated to serve big power interests. give it another couple of decades the ring will expand further. by then it will be japan, mexico, england and iceland.. this will be a tighter loop that will effectively keep the americans very safe inside the ring : )

ge: round thirteen..competition is good

this is the new slogan of the opposition parties.. chiam has sang this song and low thia khiang is also singing the same song.. the opposition wards are no longer neglected like in the past.. there could be a rethink on the tactic of not giving the opposition wards preferential services like upgradings.. to give opposition wards the cold shoulder.. this could be a thing of the past.. a misjudgement that led to the entrenchment in the thoughts of opposition ward residents that they were being punished.. this probably did not go down well and the stick has been withdrawn and carrots offered.. the opposition mps are now saying it is beneficial to be in the opposition wards, being served by two mps, a de jure mp and a de facto mp.. and better still, both trying to outdo each other.. if one provides sharksfin soup, the other will counter with abalone porrridge.. you cannot have anything better.. we can now tell the world that singapore mps feted their voters with gourmet food. and during the election, the opposition voters will not only be wooed by two candidates, but by senior ministers, prime ministers and very very senior ministers.. the children of the kept mistress has turned into children of a favoured concubine. :wink: if the opposition keeps on singing this song, will the pap retreat back to their previous step mother tactics?

china stands up to the number 1 rogue nation

china has blasted the usa for their reports and irresponsible comments about china becoming a negative force.. it is high time china and other nations stand up to this rogue nation for thinking that it has the right to call other countries names and branding others as rogue nations.. this is the american strategy of name calling.. and after some time people forgot why and subconsciously think that it is true.. the west has used this tactic so successfully over the years that most asians and english educated asians believe everything they said.. one specific example is a blogger in soc.cul.com screaming that the chinese stole the land in malaysia from the malays when the fact is that the british stole everything by colonising malaysia, and put the blame on the chinese. but idiotic people like that forumer have forgotten who actually raped malaysia and made them and their sultans british subjects. the world needs a country to stand up to the bullying by the americans.. and china together with russia and other asian countries should do it.. they will have a lot of supporters for calling the number one rogue nation what it is.. so far the americans have got away with murders as no country or the western media would want to tell the truth.. the world must hear the truth.

crooked bridge and kampung boys

temperature is rising over the crooked bridge.. and this kampung mp from sabah even said he is warning george yeo for interfering in malaysia's domestic affair.. how idiotic could he be? does he know that singapore does not see the need for a bridge? can he understand that? and if the malaysian wants singapore to cough out $500 mil to build a bridge, then it becomes a business transaction.. and if singapore is going to pay that kind of money, then it must get something in return.. negotiating to buy sand for malaysia or using malaysian airspace is interfering with malaysian affairs? he better stick to running his plantation or his kampung.. kampung boys must not try to act smart and talk about international relations and commerce when they have not a clue what they were talking about. if negotiating for the construction of a full bridge is interfering in malaysia's internal affair, then singapore better stop talking to the malaysians and let them build the crooked bridge.. but before they cut the causeway and the water pipes, let's talk or go to the international court.

new gag order in malaysia

non muslims were told by the minister in pmo office, mohd nazri, that they should not talk about islam and muslim matters.. what if islam and muslim matters violated the rights of the non muslims? shut up as well? what if islamic laws and way of life are imposed on the non muslims? shut up as well? in any issues, whether religion or politics or race, when there is a gag order, there is something smelly.. the harder the order comes down, the more the people must beware.. truth shall not be afraid to be aired.. goodness has nothing to hide. i am sure the non muslims must be celebrating their latest new found status.. being less equal by another level.. and they will keep quiet just like the other issues affecting their livelihood and way of life, their jobs etc. they have grown to accept that they are second class citizens and be quietly happy about it.. they are so blessed.

ge round twelve

the high stakes involved in pledging the reputation of choktong to win back potong pasir and hougang is seen as a brilliant strategy.. a well thought out plan, to win all.. and the pap is not apologising for winning all 84 seats. the assumption here is that people will vote for choktong in potong pasir and hougang, and the pap candidates of sitoh and eric are inconsequential.. so it is a contest between choktong pitting against low thia khiang and chiam see tong.. would the electorate really vote for a proxy, or someone who is not going to represent them in parliament? that is quite a strange logic.. anyway it is all a great strategy. if pap win a clean sweep, all 84 seats, personally i think that is bad, very bad for the country.. it would mean a unanimous endorsement of all the govt policies. we have seen something like 6 or 7 billion dollars being dished out during this period, as handouts and upgrading programmes. gosh, that is helluva lot of money.. didn't we hear bad times and the need to increase this and that fees? if all these monies were from profits overseas and not from profits made from the people, higher fares, fee etc then there will be a compelling case to support a clean sweep for the pap.

ge: round eleven

the stakes get higher.. choktong is now putting his weight behind two grcs and also to help eric and seetoh to win back hougang and potong pasir.. fortunately he did not commit to resign if he did not achieve what he sets out to do. unlike choktong, steve chia said he will quit politics if he did not win.. what happens if all politicians adopt the same approach, quit if lose? we would not have many politicians left. maybe i will volunteer when all quits and no one else is left standing : )

crooked bridge: how easy to raise tension

what can really happen if things are allowed to go wrong? no agreement after several rounds of negotiation on the bridge.. malaysia continues to build the bridge and went ahead with the u shape crooked bridge, and its end is reaching the causeway. increasing noises to cut causeway to join up with the bridge. tension rises. strong words were said. malaysia awarded contract to cut causeway.. singapore side protests and bring matter to the international court. malaysia ignores and claims that they are cutting causeway inside their territory.. it is their right to do what they want to their part of the causeway. contractors sighted at the causeway. singapore protested strongly.. more heated words on what actions singapore will take to defend the causeway. contractors seen cutting the causeway.. singapore send police to chase away contractors. contractors reappear with police protection and continue to work.. singapore send soldiers to the causeway.. tension builds up. malaysia also sends troops to the causeway.. contractors continue to work and warning shots were fired. both sides mobilised troops and state of emergency declared. could all these happen? a potential for war, all because of a crooked bridge to benefit a few people.. has anyone asked how much it will cost the commuters once the bridge is operational? $10 ringgit on the malaysian side and $5 on the singapore side per trip?

the english media's world view

reading any english newspaper, locally or overseas, one cannot run away from the fact that all the reportings, or the majority of the reportings on international issues involving the superpowers, were written by europeans and americans.. not that there were no asian writers or asian views.. but either these views were not considered worthy, or they were consciously not reported to avoid giving them an airing.. another reason is that the english media, including many asian local english media, are more comfortable with views articulated in english by westerners.. mentally most of them are western biased as many have been bred in a western intellectual environment. then there is also the reason of paying to be published, for certain official views to be heard.. and you need a rich agency to do that. so what happens in the english media world today is the same song being sang by the same group of writers, journalists, reporters and editors.. some editors just borrow or buy articles that are readily available and for convenience. but they would not borrow or buy articles from other asian news agencies.. the favourites are of course nyt, washington post, reuters, afp, and all the broadcasters. and the english reading world is led to believe that the usa is the ultimate model and the paragon of goodness. it can never do wrong and nothing it does is wrong.. or simply no western writers or news generator would want to talk negative things about it.. it is a one way process, a whole propaganda machinery in support of the american empire. there were a few voices in the wilderness that were heard once a while.. but not often enough, and not many to present a fairer and more balance treatment of the evils of empires.. how could it be fair and balance when many of the writers were paid just to do what they are doing.

the crooked bridge can be a flash point

now najib and a johore mp shahrir samad were heard saying that they would do it their way and the causeway must go.. this is a very serious statement.. cutting the causeway as a unilateral move is a very hostile act as it would also affect the water supply. what could happen is that after a year or two of negotiation and when no agreement is reached, the malaysian may just send in their contractors and start hacking at the causeway.. now what? when is a trigger point reached when actions take precedence over negotiation and a drastic act such as the cutting of the causeway is no longer tolerable? what should the singapore govt do? by then singapore cannot keep trying to contact kl and asking for more talks while the contractors keep hacking at the causeway.. it would not take more than a day when the causeway is cut. it is very important that an understanding be reached at this point for both sides to agree that nothing shall be done to the causeway without the agreement of both parties.. and should it need be, go to an international court to settle the issue.. and that a unilateral act of cutting the causeway is a hostile act and never to be attempted. let's hope no one is push to this point to attempt such a rash act.

workfare and neglected housewives (cont)

there was an official reply from the ministry to the issue of neglected housewives in the workfare bonus scheme.. and the reply was standard and contributed to nothing new.. it is as good as 'we heard you, we know you are grumbling.. this is what has been decided and nothing can be done.' the explanation that housewives will get all the other top ups is like telling every citizen that they will get their top ups.. but it fails or refuse to deal with the issue of workfare bonus and the inequality of it.. neither does it want to talk about it.. the real issue is why are those men, who work half heartedly in odd jobs or part time jobs, be considered working and productive while full time housewives were not considered productive or interested in becoming economically independent and not relying on the charity of family or state.. and why are these men considered more worthy of a workfare bonus and not the housewives whose full time commitment and chores are more noble and with a real economic value? if no workfare bonus is declared for the menfolk, then there is no issue.. now there is a demeaning of the contribution of housewives to the economy.. and a kind of sneering that housewives are not worthy or less worthy than men who contributed half heartedly to the economy. what could have happened is that during the preliminary process of forumulating the workfare bonus, the whole issue of housewives was either forgotten or written off.. if it is the latter, and now with the outcry from many quarters, they cannot simply brush it aside and refuse to acknowledge a bad judgement on their part. if it is a case of being overlooked, there is still time to make some corrective recommendations to lessen the impact on a very angry housewife workforce.. unless it is considered that there is no need for damage control. all viewers are invited to www.redbeanforum.com to post their views.

usa declares itself as the number 1 imperial power

the official release of the report on american national security strategy of the bush administration marks the beginning of a hardline policy towards china.. the stage for confrontation has been set...by the americans. what the policies amounted to are as follows: 1. it is the right of the americans to meddle in the national affairs of another country, ie interference in a nation's domestic affair. 2. it is the right of the americans to strike first at any nation if, in its own thinking and definition, decided that the other nation is hostile to the americans. 3. it is the right of the americans to maintain its world dominance by maintaining the largest armed cache, and its sole right to spend as much as it wants on its military.. and no country can challenge that or allow to spend a little fraction more than what they are currently spending without the approval of the americans.. otherwise these countries must explain to the satisfaction of the americans what they are spending on, to divlulge all their military expenses to the americans. (what a joke.) 4. that the usa is the number imperial power and it shall rule the world. all viewers are invited to my forum, www.redbeanforum.com to post your views.

the number 1 rogue nation

what are the conditions that the world shall ascribe to the world's number 1 rogue nation? bullying small nations, readiness to use force to invade another country, amassing weapons of mass destruction, sending out their military forces to engage in wars all over the world..etc which country fits these descriptions best? iran, north korea? no, they have none of the above. only the usa fits the description like a glove. and today, the usa has declared that it will use pre emptive strike to hit any country it considers a threat. how hostile and belligerent can a country be when its policy is to strike first at its will? shall all the peace loving countries of the world also adopt such a policy? strike first if it so describes another country as a threat to them? how long can the usa fool the world by claiming itself to be the most peace loving nation? it is anything but the number 1 rogue nation of the world.

internet, levelling the field

for once, the internet has levelled the field in the generation of ideas, views and opinions.. till today, the media has been monopolising the thoughts of man.. they dictate what should be published, what should be said, who can say and when to allow it to be said. the public has virtually no say in what is to be printed in the press. whatever letters or views allowed to be printed are approved by the editors, after having been vetted and seen as acceptable to be printed.. the misconception that the press is free is best highlighted by their control and choice of the information in them. then there are the journalists, reporters, columnists, editors who run roughshod over other people using the media, knowing that others will not have access to them. they can tell anyone off knowing that there is no right of reply unless they permit it. they talk down to the masses. and they know very well that their rubbish views will be rubbished when the people is given a chance to rubbish them. maybe that is the reason why they stay clear from cyberspace.. for in cyberspace, if they dare to venture, they will be torn to pieces if they utter nonsense.. no forumer will give them a chance to have a monologue, appearing very clever and witty.. there will be instantaneous replies and corrections or rebuttals. no longer can people use the press to lambast others and get away with it thinking that others have no means to throw it back at them. the internet has to an extent level the playing field a little. the media view is still the monopoly of the media mafia who would only hide in the comfort of their turf. where are the intelligentsia of the media to be found wandering in blogosphere? where have the arrogance of righteousness and smugness gone? fear of being rebutted?

ge: round ten

the experienced and knowledgeable mp irene ng shot at sylvia lim for having no clear vision when entering the political arena.. or to be exact, her words are 'i'm not sure about her stand on issues.' she said sylvia lim's position was only to act as a check against the govt.. that did not count as a vision.. on the other hand she(irene) had a great vision.. she wanted more women to be in politics. irene lim's reply was that she stood for everything in the wp's manifesto.. maybe she should invite irene to read the wp manifesto to understand what sylvia stands for. actually i only read a few lines of the wp manifesto.. and without reading the whole manifesto, i also think sylvia lim did not have any vision.. sorry sylvia, it is my fault for not reading the wp manifesto and not knowing what you stood for.. i will make it a point to read your manifesto before saying that you have no vision.

god save the queen

some section of the population are in high spirits, all gearing up to sing 'god save the queen.' they might even raise a union jack in their compound.. is it old loyalty, nostalgia or acknowledging the good times of the colonial days? we shall welcome the majesty, the queen of england, and give her the courtesy accorded to a head of state.. it is only the correct and proper thing to do. curtsy, oh yes. the girls must cutsy even if they did not know what cutsy means.. just like kowtow did not mean anything to the europeans when they first set foot in cathay. it is a good time to revel and reminisce the yesteryears, and sing god save the queen with gusto.. the colonial mentality of asians is so cute.. i really love asians if i were an european.. they have such a great sense of humility:lol:

be rewarded for everything you do

this is actually an advert by hsbc on the front page of today paper.. what is interesting is that a big article on teachers leaving the service has this headline 'look beyond pay and career issues.' the article by victor ng beng li has an equally interesting starting paragraph..'the moe is planning to pay consultants good money to review teachers' pay and career structures...those who choose to leave or avoid the teaching profession are influenced not only by lacklustre remuneration or unpromising career prospects.' is victor suggesting that the good money should go to the teachers instead? but then again the headline said teachers should look beyond pay.. that explains it.. no need to pay teachers more.. just pay the consultants will solve the problem. unfortunately the teaching service is not noted for corruption. otherwise that would be a good reason to pay them more.. the only reason for paying them more now is to pay them enough not to leave. victor then provided 9 areas for the moe to look into.. i agree with doing away with assessments of senior teachers annually. i also agree with the quota of 5% D graders.. how could this be introduced in the first place? by having this quota, 5% of teachers, no matter how good, are already condemned before the assessment starts. but i think it is a bit exaggerated to suggest that it is too much of a chore for teachers to collect fees, forms, donation money etc.. the donation money part should be seen as an education in its own right. then the presumption that the teaching service is a demanding and stressful profession which implies that other professions are not demanding and stressful, is not really a good argument. quite a confusing article.. a simple solution to the problem, perhaps, tongue in cheek, is to create a myth that teachers too can be corrupt.. i say creating a myth, so teachers don't be angry with me.. that would provide a very good reason to jack up the salary of teachers to a level where they will beg to stay in the service. then there will be no problem of stress, unattractive career prospect, no prestige or self esteem etc.

the andrew kuan sorry

derrick paulo reported in the today paper, 'it all began when someone leaked a story to the media that mr andrew kuan had been 'ousted' from his condominium's management council in may 2001.' all because andrew kuan offered himself as a presidential candidate. and the story ended with andrew kuan saying sorry, paying damages, and all the negative things being said about him. that is the price andrew kuan paid for wanting to stand for public office. 'mr chia, a partner with khattar wong and a people's action party member, dismissed any notion that his actions were politically motivated.. "its absolutely nothing to do with politics. it's my reputation."' this is a great victory for justice, for telling the truth.. and andrew kuan apologised unreservedly to chia for the embarrassment and distress the statements had caused him. it is also a lesson for people with skeletons in their cupboard not to offer themselves for political office. our political system is for squeaky clean people.. absolutely no blemishes.

cyberspace forumers all sound and fury

tan sai siong took a dig at forumers in blogosphere for so much sound and fury but hiding behind a pseudonym or remaining anonymous.. she lambasted all the forumers for not taking their cries to the real stage, to stand for election.. she presumed that forumers all are eager to stand. actually any forumer here would be able to write a stronger piece to hit out at cyberspace forumers.. i would be able to write a more interesting and teasing piece in the same vein.. it is so easy to take pot shots at forumers and even getting frontpage coverage in the local media. but for forumers to lash out at the establishment is a different thing.. forumers, like i say, also have a voice now to tell their stories.. but this is a naked voice.. unprotected voice.. and forumers hitting out unjustifiably better be very careful.. for you do not know when the wall will come crumbling down. no forumers can expect any coverage from the media for being too gungho.. their posts will simply be ignored.. maybe i shall write a piece to ridicule cyberspace forumers.. in that way it will have a chance to be on print. forumers must always understand that they are on their own.. whatever they post, they are soley responsible.. and alone, when ask to face the music. three cheers to sai siong for such an enlightened piece. or maybe she was trying to encourage cyberspace forumers to step forward, to get into the ring.. a woman's way of saying things.

local talents can do well

look at mardan mamat! look at him! how much did we as a nation supported him financially to this big success? i think panwest paid him more. thank you panwest. this is the homegrown talent that we should be supporting and put our money in. even if mardan be as big as vijay, wherever he goes, he will call himself singaporean. those bought talents, unless they are from countries with traditional and cultural links with us, many will throw away our passports once they move out. an african will go back to call himself african again. we need to save all the precious money to nurture our own talents and in sports where we stand a chance of winning. football and athletics are two sports that we can forget about. we are physically not build to compete internationally in these sports. spend some money for the sports, but don't put too much hope in them. the football and footballers shall be an industry on its own, a commercial enterprise and supported by the money it can generate. let them have their fun. but be more careful on spending taxpayer's money on this sport.

tudungs not compulsory in malaysian schools

hishamuddin, the malaysian education minister, a potential pm, said muslim girls should not be forced to wear tudungs in schools. 'according to education ministry rules and regulations, it is very clear there is no compulsion for students to wear tudung.' in the same article reported in the straits times, marina mahathir even said that 'muslim women here are only going backwards...only in malaysia are muslim women regressing...it is all politics. there's a kind of race to see who is more islamic. it is unfortunate because the more conservative voice has become louder while the progressive ones find it harder to speak. it's scary.' it is scary indeed. a fatwah might be issued against her, just like against muslim madonna for stripping her veil to reveil her bikini. the threat against conservative muslim is very serious. what perhaps can be done is for the muslim leaders to form a body to outlaw extreme groups as non muslim or anti muslim. this will turn the table and allow them to point their fingers instead of being pointed at.

education in transformation

we are seeing rapid changes in the way we educate our children. in fact the change process had started at least a decade or two ago. the progressive changes accumulated over the years and the recent bout of changes have resulted in a transformation of the whole education system and process. we have changed the quality of the teachers. we have changed the infrastructure/equipment of the schools. and we have changed the teaching content as well. our kindergarten children are learning things the children of the past were learning in primary schools. our primary schools are teaching things that we used to teach secondary schools. and secondary school students are now being taught things that polytechnics students are learning. and jc students are doing things that university students are doing. and in certain schools, when L1R5 would be more than sufficient, students were made to take not 8 subjects, but 10, and some 12 or 13 subjects. and we ask ourselves why are our students so stressed out. are we killing our children without knowing it? but one fundamental mindset has not been changed. we still stick to the belief that at 16, students must sit for o level and 18, for a level. with the amount of information and knowledge being taught, why can't we shave off one or two years off the education system for the very bright students instead. why do 10 or 12 subjects for o level and remain at o level when they could do higher level subjects with the extra time and effort? the extras that the students put in should be translated into something more tangible. the bright students should do their primary/secondary education in 10 instead of twelve years and proceed to university at 16. this could compensate the time loss for ns. we are spending too long, too many years, educating our children. those who can take a shorter route should be allowed to.