Solutions to a hazy problem

We are getting a little reprieve from the full onslaught of the haze problem for the moment. Last week was frightening and if the haze did not subside yesterday, we are in for big trouble when our logistics and great contingency plans failed to react fast enough. A simple thing like 9m masks could not find their way to the people who needed them. They are probably kept in the deep silos or high security bank vaults and no one has the key to open it.

The economic cost of the haze can come into hundreds of millions, or as one analyst guessed, could even hit a billion dollars. And that is not counting the damage to the health of the people, the ecological system and the cost of medicare. And the numbers did not include the cost to our neighbours in the north. The cost to the people in Riau is their own problem and for them to take care of.

Can there be a long term solution to the haze problem? The plantation owners, big and small, are going to clear land as economic growth and making money are the end alls of life. So they will continue to burn, like an annual religious ritual. There is an almost simple and effective solution to this problem, that is to allow them to do as they pleased as it makes economic sense to the companies to do so. For the cost of a match, they could bring down thousands of hectares of vegetation. Why pay for the bull dozers and the manpower to do the hard and expensive way? The hundreds of millions or billions of losses to Singapore and Malaysia are not their concern.

It only takes the Indonesian Govt to decree that burning can only take place in the month of October after the North East monsoon has started. The haze will go to the Indian Ocean instead. How the Riau people going to live with it by being in the centre of the haze is still a problem but not ours to care.

Another way is to pay for the solution. With the damage done to Singapore and the Malaysian economies in the hundreds of millions or billions, it would be pragmatic and economically expedient to pay the companies what they need to clear the land. This could be only a few millions dollars. Why not, it makes economic sense isn’t it? It is a win win solution. The plantation owners got their land cleared and we have clear skies, and the cost is only a fraction of the damage that the plantation owners would have inflicted on us in Singapore and Malaysia.

Yes, it is like paying a ransom to the thugs to leave us alone while they feast on the loot. Isn’t this the thinking of the day, that as long as it makes economic sense, just do it. We gambled by bringing in millions of foreigners just to increase our economic numbers with not a care about the dire consequences now and into the future. We allowed our banking and finance industry to indulge in all kinds of unacceptable high risk ventures for short term profits, employing the crooks from New York, London and Mumbai to run our financial institutions to the ground. Some may not think so as it is still looking like a rosy apple from the outside while the worms are growing within.

The cost of the solution to pay the plantation owners for clean air is nothing. It only costs a few million bucks which is small change really. The pay of a top banker is enough to foot the bill with change to spare.

What do you think? Oops, I know, talk is free and talking nonsense is a good weekend escapee.

My advice to Vivian Balakrishnan

Ever since his infamous reply to Lily Neo in Parliament, ‘You want to eat in hawker centre, in food court or in restaurant’, these words have been carved in the stones of cyberspace, Vivian seems to be having a pretty rough time. These words were the beginning of his seemingly unending problems as a minister.

While as a minister of Youth and Sports, he chalked up an excess bill of several hundred millions during the YOG held here, for under budgeting or overspending. The netizens were not kind to him and would remind him of these hundreds of millions overspent for some children against the $50 requested by Lily Neo for those dependents on public assistance scheme.

Thank God, Hsien Loong quickly moved him out of the ministry into a safer ministry like Environment, now called Environment and Water Resources. Things should be quite safe in this new ministry with flooding happening only once in 50 years. It turned out not to be the case and flooding has been mischievous and hitting places most unthinkable and in the most unlikely time. But the flooding is only flooding and should not be too big a problem to mess around with.

Vivian must not have thought that dengue and chikungunya will be his new nightmares. The virus carrying mosquitoes are breeding quite freely, maybe flooding has something to do with it, and dengue has hit an epidemic level. As they said, when they breed you bleed. And yes, Vivian is the Minister of Environment and is expected to tackle this mosquito breeding problem. This ME and ER is not going to be a honeymoon posting after all.

And while struggling to contain the dengue epidemic that seems to be getting from bad to worse, our air quality is hit by a haze problem that has reached hazardous level and life threatening to some of the more vulnerable citizens. It is the worst haze problem we have seen for 50 years. And the people are expecting Vivian to tackle this as well. And poor Vivian already got his hands full with mosquitoes and now the haze is going to engulf him like smoke grenades.

He is now in Jakarta with a personal letter from Hsien Loong to Yudhoyono pleading for help. From this comments and expression seen over the news, this messenger boy role is not smooth going. And nothing is likely to come out of it.

Those who believe in fortune telling and geomancy will be saying that Vivian is hitting a bad patch. Troubles seem to be visiting him more than other ministers. The first thing I would recommend to Vivian is to go bathe in a bath tub fill with flowers. The next thing is to find a good geomancer and shift the furniture in his office and also his home. And finally, carry a lot of one dollar coins to ward off the bad feng shui following him around.

Try it and pray for all you can. This is better than just talking and do nothing.

Don’t worry, the haze will go away

This I can assure you, while I look out of the window and see a condition very much worse than yesterday. And I heard in the news that the Indonesians have declared emergency in the Riau Archipelago. And we can keep talking, and talk the haze away. It will go away, one week, one month or three months, when the burning stops, the haze will stop coming. In the meantime keep talking.

Some quarters have spoken that this is a domestic issue and got nothing to do with us. We can’t tell our neighbours what not to do. And our neighbours also think so.

Really? Allow me to remind people on the basics of human rights or individual rights. Everyone has the freedom to do as he pleases…as long as it does not affect others. The freedom stops when others are affected by it. When an act of freedom invades into the privacy of anther person or causing harm to another person, it is no longer an act of freedom. J S Mills called this ‘others regarding action’. Your freedom to act goes as far as the next person you are going to hurt.

If the Indonesians can contain the pollutants within their borders, who cares? They can burn for all they like. But the problems it is causing to the neighbouring countries have made this bush burning an ‘others regarding action’ and is no longer a private domestic affair. Be responsible and do something about it.

This be responsible and do something about it have been spoken for many years and I assure you every year this time Singapore and Malaysia will be telling the Indonesians the same old thing. And come next year or the years after, this time of the year, we will be scrambling as to what should be done, and all equally lost, forever lost about how to handle this annual haze migration problem. Did we have a department monitoring on the haze situation? Didn’t we have sophisticated instruments and satellites in space watching over the hot spots? Did we see it coming?

But don’t worry, keep talking and the haze will go away. It may go away before the masks we ordered arrived. It may go away before we have the chance to distribute the masks to those who needed them. It will go away for sure and talking is good enough for this problem. I am one hundred per cent confident that in a few more days or weeks there will be no more haze around.

No need to do anything. We can talk the haze away.

Silent protest against haze invasion at Hong Lim

Dear Fellow Singaporeans,

There will be a short silent protest against the worst haze invasion by our neighbor Indonesia at Hong Lim Green tomorrow at 5 pm.

We need to stand up as a people and send a clear signal to Indonesia that we will not tolerate this harmful incursion to our health and economy.

This is also to demonstrate our solidarity with our government which is trying its best to bring pressure on the Indonesian government to stop the forest burning.

As haze condition is getting hazardous please just pop by wear black, wear mask and bring some water for the short duration you are there....

This is a called by Patrick Low posted in TRE.

Banking malpractices

It took so long for the ST editorial to come out with an article to chastise the wrongs of the robbers in the banking and finance industry. While the noose is tightening in the West to rein in the wild and reckless behavior of the bankers and their fraudulent ways, nothing of such nature is happening in Asia. Many Asian countries are still gulping in all the toxic products and practices of the West and think, like one western bankers stationed in Hongkong said, ‘If it is ok for London it must be ok for us.’

How many Asian bankers and govts really scrutinized the faulty and dangerous products and instruments coming out from the west, from derivatives and deregulations to computers plugging into the exchange system and hi speed computer trading, and dare to say no them? Or how many really bother to assess the suitability or the unacceptable risks that these instruments and products will cause to their financial markets?

The regulators of stock exchanges have a basic and fundamental principle to uphold, of providing a level playing field and fair practices for all investors big and small. By allowing the big funds to plug their computers to their exchange system and allowing them to gain advantage in speed and information is a clear violation of this principle. The use of hi speed computers, something that many decent finance experts and lawmakers in the West have acknowledged as cheating, is blindly being accepted by Asian govts and stock market regulators, likely believing the same, that if London and New York allowed it, then it is ok to accept them.

Asians will always be condemned as foolish if they continue in their silly ways to accept all the rubbish and snake oils from the West without questions asked and risk destroying their financial markets and the savings of their investors. It is not only illegal, it is irresponsible and immoral.

Are there any Asian experts or thinking persons in the Asian finance industry, strong and with the conviction to keep their financial system clean, fair, and healthy and not be corrupted by the wild Western ways out there?

The little piece of editorial in today’s ST titled ‘Checking banking malpractices’ is just too little and too flimsy to mean anything. More serious work needs to be done to keep check on the wayward and reckless ways of the western bankers before it is too late.

Hi speed computer trading is so foul, giving big funds and their hi speed computers to much unfair advantage over the innocent small investors that it is unbelieveable for it to get a green light to create havoc in the stock markets of Asia. No one can see anything wrong with hi speed trading? If they are so dumb, so speak to the experts in the West of their concerns and misgivings. No need to work too hard to sweat the small stuff. The amount of work and research done to tell how unacceptable hi speed trading is are all out there for all who wants to know, who needs to know.

We need to bring back the likes of Koh Beng Seng.

New trend in begging

Some data showed that at 9 pm last night the PSI hit 452. Before at 8pm it was 224 and after at 10 pm it was 287. For that one hour the PSI went into very dangerous level. And many people have been storming the pharmacies trying to buy N95 masks but all sold out. What contingency plan to stockpile such masks for emergencies just like this?

If the situation gets worst, and the N95 masks are not available, we could see beggars begging for mask along the streets. Please give me a mask, I am suffocating.

Hazy and dazed

Work up this morning, took a peep at the window. Just as bad if not worst. Turn on the TV for confirmation. PSI 95! Real or not? I like to believe that it was 95, but my eyes were telling me that it could not be. An hour later, walking down the same path towards MBFC from Raffles Place, took a look at the MBS three pillars of strength. They were barely visible unlike yesterday morning. My eyes confirmed that the air quality was worst than yesterday and the PSI yesterday morning was near to 200.

Something was not right, must be my eyes, watery and starting to hurt. The machine reading the PSI could not be wrong. But I still chose to believe my eyes and the pain and discomfort in them.

When I stepped into the office there was an uproar. What 97? Bullshit. It was worst than yesterday. And this was what everyone commented. No one believed that the PSI had suddenly dropped below 100.

What is the point of having a national reading that no one wants to believe in? And how could anyone believe in something when they could see, feel and smell the air and know that the situation is getting worst or not better?

Recalibrate the machine or go for an eye check?

PSI above 400 is life threatening

‘PSI levels above 400 may be life-threatening to ill and elderly persons. Healthy people may experience adverse symptoms that affect normal activity.’

The quality of our air hit 371 on the PSI scale on Thursday. This is 29 points short of 400. According to the PSI definition, above 400 is life threatening. How threatening is this? Is it more serious than the dengue situation at the moment? Is it more serious than during the SARS crisis? What kind of adverse symptoms will hit the people?

What are the measures or plans that will be rolled out by the govt when 400 is reached? There were reports that more measures will be taken when the haze condition worsen. So when and what will be the measures that the people can expect? Would there be hospitals with special setups to take care of those having respiratory problems or other problems caused by the haze? Would there be field camps set up for the sick that are overflowing from the hospitals or are deemed dying?

How serious is a PSI of above 400 and what will the situation be like? Would all economic and social activities be halted and everyone be told to stay indoors? Would people be falling down along the roads?

Could the govt or the main media with their experts enlighten or educate the ignorant masses on how critical the situation will be like and what can the people do to protect themselves? We have fire drills, bomb drills, would there be a deadly haze drill?

When will it hit a crisis state or a national emergency be declared?

Do we need foreigners to win medals?

The Singapore Athletic Association SAA has brought back Chinese sports woman Du Xianhui to don Singapore colours to win medals for Singapore. The shot putter is definitely a medal hopeful and will keep Singapore flag flying. The question is whether this is the way to go, spending public money on foreigners to win medals and glory for Singapore. Are we so desperate to win medals to the extent of buying athletes and sports people to do that for us? Should we not use the money to develop and train our own citizens to mount the winner’s rostrum?

Are the money well spent? Are the glories well earned, something that we can be proud of? When would Singapore grow up from this third world mentality of winning glories in sports to claim honours for the country, that we are also good in sports? So what if our own athletes cannot win medals if they are not good enough. So what if these foreigners win medals for us?

Where is the achievement? What is so great about such medals? Why spent such money when money can be put to better use for the betterment of our own citizens? How much is the total spent annually on foreigners to win medals? Would it not be more meaningful to pay for coaches and trainers to train our citizens instead? The way we are going, we are going to be dependent on foreigners forever, as this is a sure short cut for medals.

Are we so hard up for medals?

SPCAS is needed

We have many civic societies to protect animals, dogs and cats, birds etc from cruel and vicious inhuman acts against them. What is lacking in this gracious and compassionate country is a society to prevent cruelties against Singaporeans.

One group of poor Singaporeans that needs protection is the taxi drivers. This group used to be able to fend for themselves when they were young and strong. The new breed of taxi drivers are the oldies, the retired, the retrenched and the white collar workers. They would not stand a chance against the violent type and worst against the big FTs. Hardly a day passed when there will be an incident of a taxi driver being beaten up on the job.

Another group that needs protection is the oldies, the old uncles and aunties that should be happily retired and enjoying their twilight years. Some are living alone, some abandoned by their children, some have little or no CPF savings, and they ended up working in hawker centres and food courts cleaning tables and washing crockery. They are becoming news in the social media, and catching the attention of tourists as an anomaly in this super rich country of millionaires or half a millionaire. Shouldn’t this group be protected as well, from hard labour?

I think there are laws on child labour, protecting children from unlawful employment because of their tender age and weak physique. I think the physical bodies of the oldies are equally weak and need to rest than doing back breaking manual works. There used to be a saying, protect the weak, the young and the old. The oldies fall under the weak and old and rightfully deserved to be protected.

We also need to protect the sick when medical treatments are costly and they cannot afford to pay for it. We also need to protect the workers, especially the interns, from being beaten up in their work place by their supervisors.

There is a need to protect Singaporeans, especially PMETs from being discriminated in jobs and employments by foreigners. It is very cruel as these people have families to look after, including children and a big housing loan to clear. They need a job to pay for all the expenses. Without an income they will have no dignity to talk about.

And another group, the NS men. They are supposed to defend this country and paid a pittance. But many have no homes to go to and have to squat with their parents or rent expensive private apartments. And their attractiveness to employers is not too good given all the reservist duties and commitments that will take them away from their jobs. And if they end up jobless or underemployed, with the high cost of living here, life can be quite a struggle, which also means struggling to maintain their dignity as citizens of this super rich country of millionaires.

We need a society, a Society for the Prevention of Cruelties Against Singaporeans, SPCAS. What do you think?

Oh I forgot, there is another group that needs protection, the bloggers. Every now and then the bloggers are being threatened by Sue like it is damn fun. People got money or power can always send Sue to visit the bloggers. And there is the new regulations lurking behind the corners waiting to pounce on them. $50k or $200k or jail if suay suay Sue came a calling. Poor bloggers.

Boycott against Citibank

There is a thread in TRE titled ‘Singaporean should boycott Citibank’ by a blogger calling himself, Angry Singaporean Customer. He is unhappy with the knowledge that Citibank is one of the foreign banks that employed a predominant number of foreigners as staff of the bank. 40% of the banks staff is foreigners or it is more? Some banks regard PRs as locals and lump them together with Singaporeans. If this is the case, then the percentage of foreigners could be much bigger.

With the influx of foreigners into the little island and with many PMEs being replaced, and with foreigners and foreign banks found to practise discriminatory employment policies against Singaporeans, the anger is growing among the Singaporeans against foreigners and foreign institutions. Citibank has been quoted in many places as one of the biggest culprit in favouring the employment of foreigners.

In the thread concerned, the author is calling for Singaporeans to boycott Citibank and not to do business with the bank. Many bloggers have responded positively to the call and some claimed to have cut their credit cards from the cards and stop using them. Some have been urged to bring away their deposits or business elsewhere.

This is probably the second time in recent months that there were calls in social media to boycott foreign businesses. The first was against Jollybeans that was not much of a success. Would this call to boycott Citibank end with similar result that it was all noise and nothing much will happen?

How would Citibank head office in the US view this threat of unhappiness against Citibank here? If the anger grows and becomes widespread, it would definitely have some negative impact on Citibank and also affect the reputation of the bank as one that is anti Singaporeans or even a racist bank.

The thread just appeared today and still gathering responses from netizens that are unhappy with the situation created in the bank. Maybe it will just fizzle out in a couple of days, like all protests in this little sanitised island. A little noise is all there is to it.

A case of the thief crying. US hypocrisy on Cyber Hacking

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A case of the thief crying

Updated: 2013-06-19 08:55

By Wang Hui ( China Daily)

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Since Edward Snowden, the former US government subcontractor, stepped into the media limelight to reveal secret US surveillance programs less than two weeks ago, the war of words between the United States and China over cybersecurity has taken an abrupt turn. While watching the Snowden drama continue to unfold, the world has a chance to contemplate the US' hypocrisy and urge the country to stop peeping into other people's backyards.
In the past few months, high-ranking US officials had ratcheted up their accusations about cyberattacks and even cyber espionage allegedly by China. They claimed the Chinese government and military were behind the alleged wrongdoings. Such finger-pointing has cast a shadow on the generally rosy picture of China-US relations as it has helped whip up a new round of anti-China sentiment in the US.
China has repeatedly denied the US' accusations and the world's sole superpower has failed to provide any tenable evidence to justify its allegations. Beijing has offered to cooperate with Washington over cybersecurity issues as it, too, is a victim of cyberattacks. Yet it seems Beijing has been talking to deaf ears. Worse, with Western companies dominating the global media apparatus, Beijing's rebuttals and tangible concerns have more often than not been drowned out by the biased one-sided chorus of US politicians and the Western media, which have been loudly trumpeting a cyber threat from China.
Had it not been for the Snowden drama, the world might have remained ignorant of the fact that the US' holy-than-thou grandstanding was merely misdirection to reinforce the illusion that it was the victim not the perpetrator. According to the revelations of Snowden and a Foreign Policy website article, the US security authorities have habitually instigated cyberattacks against China in the past years.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post on June 13, Snowden made explosive claims that the US National Security Agency's controversial Prism program has for years been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland in a systematic way.
Meanwhile, a Foreign Policy website article published on June 10, entitled "Inside the NSA's Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group", reports at length about the formation and function of the Office of Tailored Access Operations, under the NSA, which is the biggest spy surveillance organization in the world.
According to the article, TAO has successfully penetrated Chinese computer and telecommunications systems for almost 15 years, generating intelligence information about what is going on inside the country.
If true, both the scope and the long duration of the US hacking directed at China are beyond tolerance. Compared with the hollow US accusations against China, allegations of US hacking against China from an ex-CIA employee and a respected media outlet sound far more reliable and convincing.
Hence, the hypocrisy of Uncle Sam is self-evident: For a long time Washington has played the game of a thief crying, "Stop! Thief!".
Regrettably, there is still no sign that the US authorities are ready to learn a lesson from the on-going information collection scandal and stop wrongdoings that infringe upon the rights and privacy of other people and countries.
To continue their mud-throwing game, some in the US, former vice-president Dick Cheney most prominently have called Snowden a "traitor" and alleged that he may be a spy for China. Such a claim is clearly absurd, and it is clear that the US authorities are at their wit's end about how to deal with the chain reactions Snowden's leaks have set off.
An honest reflection on the wrongdoings and reparative measures are the right way for the US to cope with the aftereffects of the hot potato dropped by the ex-CIA analyst and a former employee working for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton at the NSA. Any attempt to shirk these responsibilities would only further erode the credibility of the US.
The author is a senior writer with China Daily
E-mail: wanghui@chinadaily.com.cn

Extraditing Snowden an unwise decision

Extraditing Snowden an unwise decision

Global Times | 2013-6-17 1:03:01 By Global Times

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For more, see Daily Specials: World reacts to Edward Snowden's leak

More than 20 public organizations in Hong Kong launched a demonstration last weekend, backing ex-CIA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. In the meantime, Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, has said that the government will handle it "in accordance with the laws and established procedures of Hong Kong." A poll initiated by the South China Morning Post shows that more than half the Hong Kongers surveyed are opposed to extraditing Snowden back to the US. But Beijing has not yet made an explicit statement.

Washington must be grinding its teeth because Snowden's revelations have almost overturned the image of the US as the defender of a free Internet. After losing this image, which has been abused by the US government to boss others around, there is no way it won't want Snowden to be extradited.

However, it would be a face-losing outcome for both the Hong Kong SAR government and the Chinese Central government if Snowden is extradited back to the US. Unlike a common criminal, Snowden did not hurt anybody. His "crime" is that he blew the whistle on the US government's violation of civil rights. His action supported "human rights" as defined in the UN Charter, and has been applauded  worldwide. 
Snowden believes in the democracy and freedom of Hong Kong. His whistle-blowing is in the global public interest. Therefore, extraditing Snowden back to the US would not only be a betrayal of Snowden's trust, but a disappointment for expectations around the world. The image of Hong Kong would be forever tarnished.

Diplomatically, Snowden has cast a shadow over the new Sino-US relationship right after the Xi-Obama meeting. The sooner the incident is wrapped up, the better the ties between the two countries will be.

Cyber attacks, a weapon frequently used by the US government, have turned out to be its own Achilles' heel. China is generous enough not to hype this incident in consideration of the Sino-US relationship.

The Chinese government has no responsibility to help the US quench the fire.

Sino-US ties have their own flexibility. On the one hand, under pressure from public opinion, Washington must have made preparations in case it can't extradite Snowden. On the other hand, Beijing needs to demonstrate it can't just be pushed according to Washington's wishes.

The consequences of extraditing Snowden back to the US would be more troublesome than the alternative, because the local reaction would bring more trouble to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

China's growing power is attracting  people to seek asylum in China. This is  unavoidable and should be used to accumulate moral standing.

The "no comment" attitude of the Chinese Central government and the ambiguous statements from the Hong Kong administration are the proper responses. China should follow public opinion and safeguard its interests.

You people are just too much!

How can you people blame our govt for the haze problem huh? Rightly Shanmugam has told the people to leave the govt alone. We are just a small dot and when our neighbours farted we are sure to kongsi the ‘ba ooh’ right. You people don’t be like dat lah. Everything also wants to blame the govt. And Vivian tried to talk to the Indonesians and kena slammed. Feel so sorry for him for trying to fight for our right and safety. If like that our airport may go out of business too. But still it is their domestic affair ok. Don’t anyhow go and kacho. Wait kena bokok then you know.

What happens inside our neighbour’s house is their business. They want to cook curry, eat durian, fried smelly toufu, and the smell comes over, just bear with it lah. Won’t die one.

Next time if we want to go nuclear, locate our nuclear plant in one of the southern most island or in the northern most island and tell our neighbours don’t kacho, it is our domestic affair also. And if our northern neighbor locate their nuclear plant just next to the Straits of Johore, also none of our business.

We shall all be good neighbours and fart for as much as we want. Think of the good stuff, free smoke, duty free some more. Don’t forget to say thank you.

Sinkie thinking?

• Ex-e2i Staff:


June 17, 2013 at 10:35 pm (Quote)

Until I left e2i in March this year to pursue my own venture, e2i had helped thousands of retrenched workers over the past 5 years. However, some remained retrenched and unemployed not because there is no job for them but because they are unwilling to face the reality that in their late 40s and 50s, they can no longer command the same pay they were getting prior to being retrenched.

• Many of you are saying you have friends who are very well qualified but still cannot get a job after so many years and their jobs are snatched away by foreigners.

Let me say this: There are many people who have gone through very difficult periods but got up from where they fell and rose again.

If you don’t have what it takes to succeed, don’t complain. Doesn’t mean that by virtue of being Singaporean you are entitled to a GREAT LIFE.

• Ex-e2i Staff:

June 17, 2013 at 11:07 pm (Quote)

And for goodness sake, please stop instigating Singaporeans to hate foreign workers.

The above are comments by this ex e2i staff in my thread on NTUC helping PMEs in more training posted in TRE. Reading his comments we can understand the few underlying assumptions or principles that he subscribed to and probably could also be the same beliefs and assumptions that he learned from his organizations.

1. A person who is in his 40s and 50s must expect to earn less

2. It is okay for citizens to lose their jobs to foreigners in their home country. Or as he put it, it is okay for foreigners to snatch away jobs from citizens

3. Singaporeans cannot expect anything more than foreigners in our own country. Yes, must compete with foreigners in a level playing field. Try to go to another country and see if they let you compete equally in their country.

4. And there is the assumption that foreigners are fighting equally and fairly for jobs in Singapore with Singaporeans. He has not heard of foreigners hiring their own kind and discriminating against Singaporeans. He has not heard of fake qualifications and experience.

5. Fighting for the rights of Singaporeans to have jobs in Singapore in preference to foreigners is anti foreigners. Singaporeans have no rights to jobs in Singapore vis a vis foreigners.

Could this person be a foreigner, a PR? Is he really a Singaporean? If all Singaporeans think this way, soon all Singaporeans will be out of jobs and their jobs taken over by foreigners.

What makes me angry about my country

The most annoying thing whenever I returned from an overseas trip and found myself at the checkpoints and had to face some foreigners sizing me up, looking at me with distrust and doubt as if I am a potential terrorist or a danger to my country. And to have them asking me silly questions as if they are the owners of my country and I a foreigner needing to appease them so that I can get pass the checkpoints quickly.

I am not sure how many of you share this same piss off experience as a Singaporean, completed our NS, trained to defend this country and now treated like a threat by foreigners. In my case I am even more angry as minding the safety and security of my country was once my business. Why must Singaporeans be frisked and checked out by foreigners on returning home?

Something is crazily wrong with this process. This is like hiring ex convicts to be security guards of vital installations. Singaporeans should be the ones at the checkpoints checking foreigners and worrying about the foreigners doing harm to our country and our people.

Then there are many govt bodies and institutions where Singaporeans ended up with some problems or issues and have to plead with foreigners who are employed to boss around with Singaporeans. Some even throw their weights around, looking at Singaporeans as pain in the arse or some pathetic forlorn travellers needing their help and mercy to make life less troublesome. Why are Singaporeans put in situation to be shafted around by foreigners employed to position of power and authority over Singaporeans?

In the name of security, in public and commercial places, many foreigners are employed to be security officers. Put a uniform on them and even a rapist or murderer instantly became a security officer. In shopping centres or outlets some of these jokers can even restrain customers and conduct personal searches. What is happening? And they could shoo Singaporeans at will, thinking and behaving as if they are the guardians of Singaporeans. What do we know of the background of these security personnel to push Singaporeans around and hustling Singaporeans as security officers in our country?

What do you think?

Singapore a green country?

The call for saving mother earth is gaining momentum around the world. And Singapore, like all young and impressionable kids, will rush in to join the crowd, to be part of the crowd, to be green. And we have done quite a bit in many areas and even won mentions in our conservation effort, green architecture, energy saving buildings, water conservation, and all the nice little bins around the island to save paper and plastic bottles and drink cans. Hope the cost of the bins is not more than the money saved from collecting papers and plastics. And we gave ourselves a pat for doing such great stuff to save mother earth. So is Singapore really a green country?

Every time I see young people picking plastic bottles trying to save a few pieces of plastic I start to wonder, how much could they save when the country is wasting so much resources unnecessarily? We try to save on plastic bags, on plastic bottles but on the other hand we are wasting and consuming unnecessarily beyond anyone’s imagination.

Our whole economy is built on wasteful pursuits, wasteful consumption and unnecessary consumption that need not be. Economic growth for the sake of economic growth is simply waste, wasting scarce resources of mother earth and in huge quantities. Economic growth, economic activities, particularly the excessive and redundant types, are destroying mother earth at an increasing rate that is unstoppable. Think the number of good cars and vehicles that can run for another 10 or 20 years but scrapped for newer ones! How much resources were wasted? Think of the pulling down of buildings/flats that can last for another 50 or 100 years but pulled down to rebuild! How much wasteful energy and resources were blown away? Think of the number luxury bags, mobile phones, apps, TVs, consumer durables that were used and thrown away when they were in good working conditions! Think artificial gardens.

Think of the crazy idea of increasing population for the sake of economic growth? How much resources and energy will be wasted just to feed the number of mouths, to clothe and house the number of bodies that are called growth?

And we are so happy about saving a few plastic bags, a few plastic bottles, a few drink cans? Go buy, spend, buy and consume for the sake of the economy.

TRE kena sabo?

I am having difficulties accessing TRE. I keep getting an image of a sleeping dog with a hard hat and the message, 'We'll be up and running soon....We are doing some nerdy stuff to our website to make it better.

TRE is there anything wrong or it is just my pc?

We hack you, we spy on you!!!

This is what the Americans were accusing China of doing. Now Edward Snowden got one step further and told the world that the Americans and the British were doing more, spying on friends and foes. Matthew Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington said this, ‘the reports (by Snowden) have confirmed long standing suspicions that the NSA’s surveillance in this country is far more intrusive than we knew…This is just what intelligence agencies do – spy on friends and enemies alike….’

The AGENCIES reported that the British intelligence agents had gone as far as setting up fake Internet cafes and tapping into foreign diplomats’ Blackberry messages and calls. Among those tapped were Dmitry Medvedev, then Russian President and now its PM.

China and several other nations have stepped up the pressure on the Americans to explain what they have done. But the allies of the Americans and British are keeping quiet, embarrassed that they were spied upon by their guardian, the empire.

So what is Obama going to say now? And Dick Cheney is claiming that Snowden is a Chinese spy. Waaahahhahahha. The greatest hypocritical evil empire will do anything and say anything to cover its arse. They have been spying and hacking into every country for ages and wanted to accuse China of hacking into American systems. This is swift retribution.

China must hold on to Snowden and make sure that the American killer squad does not get to him first.

Why do we need Yale NUS?

We have two of the world’s top universities in NUS and NTU, why is there a need for a Yale NUS? Are we going to have Cambridge NUS, Harvard NUS, MIT NTU, Oxford NTU? Should not the effort and resources be poured into NUS and NTU to make them greater and better universities? By having joint universities, they are going to draw more of the limited good students we have and will only dilute the quality of the NUS and NTU. A good university is not only about having good infrastructure and good academic staff, it also needs good quality students. Oh sorry, I forgot that we can get all the good students from third world countries to fill up the places to raise the standard of the universities.

If Yale NUS is just a commercial money making university, to bring in the foreign student dollars, that is a slightly different matter. But as another full fledge govt funded university, it will definitely put a dent to the quality and eventually the stature of NUS and NTU as good national universities. Would it then be better for Yale NUS to outshine NUS and NTU with the two losing their shine and rankings?

For the cost of setting up this joint university, this is not a small amount. Do we really need this university? Who is it supposed to cater to? Foreign students or to feed more foreign academics? And what would the students get, an Yale degree that is not Yale and a NUS degree that is not NUS.

Art of RAR featured in Artsy Shark and indiegogo.com

Hi,

My works are now featured in Artsy Shark hosted by Ms Carolyn Edlund effective today. Please visit http://www.artsyshark.com/2013/06/17/featured-artist-chua-chin-leng/ to enjoy the paintings and write ups.
My project in indiegogo.com, a crowd funding platform is awaiting support from art lovers who can appreciate what a piece of art from Mother Nature means. Please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paintings-of-gods/.

Cheers.

The pathetic state of Singaporeans in the banking and finance industry

We did not become a financial centre yesterday. We have built a good reputation as a financial centre for the last 50 years. We are perhaps the most advanced financial centre in the region. And we don’t have the financial talents and needed to fill the top management positions with talents from third world countries when their financial systems are at best rudimentary. Maybe I am wrong, the financial industries of third world countries are superior and they have superior finance talents too. And given that they are better, it is only natural that third world talents should fill the top management positions of this first world financial centre.
 
Tharman and Chuan Jin have been talking to the CEOs of the banking industry to right this pathetic situation, to rebalance our lousy talents or to train our lousy talents for top management positions. Or is it just to make up the numbers, with many doing the backroom work or as junior staff? If nothing is done quickly, it will become a vicious negative cycle and Singaporeans will all be relegated to the backroom or to work in middle or lower management positions. Our banking industry will become heavily dependent on foreigners and can be held at ransom by them threatening to pull out. How did we work ourselves into such a shitty situation? What have our super talents been doing? On holiday or counting money in their bank accounts?
 
This is what Tharman said, ‘There are differences between the banks – some of them have Singaporeans much better represented in the range of functions, some others have Singaporeans pretty much in the middle and back office…’ Is this good enough? This is Singapore and not Timbuktu. Singaporeans should be represented in top management levels in most of the banks, particularly local banks. This is what developing a Singaporean core is all about.
 
The composition of foreign banks may be a bit more tricky to expect more Singaporeans in top management. But there is no reason why the top management of local banks should be staffed with so many foreigners. This kind of situation is a reminder of the colonial days when the colonial masters sat at the top to order the subjects, who were designated mainly as clerks or chief clerks, around. Are we taking the path back to the good old days when foreigners are our bosses? If we are just a corporation, a MNC, then there is nothing wrong with it. But we are a country, a nation, and this is our country, our nation.
 
Talking about training Singaporeans to fill top management positions? What nonsense! Shouldn’t Singaporeans have acquired enough expertise and experience to be training third world talents instead of third world talents training Singaporeans?
Someone or somewhere got short circuited and thinks that this island does not belong to Singaporeans anymore? And Singaporeans are from the third world, ignorant, unsophisticated and needing assistance and training from third world experts sent in by UNESCO. Singaporeans are begging to be trained by third world experts.

Over paying the super elite

It affects everyone when the system overpays in whatever ways. One unspoken and may be unnoticed fact is the grotesquely over paying of a super elite group in our system. This group of beneficiaries has members mostly in their 60s, 70s or older. These are very able people who have made good in life, with a lot of wealth and do not need a single cent more to live a life of unbelieveable comfort and convenience. They have everything material in excess. And with their dying years, many of them are going to die very very rich, with a lot of money unspent.

And they are still being paid by huge pensions, chairmanship, directorship fees, association fees, acquaintanceship fees, appearance fees etc etc. Many have long retired, many long past their useful lives, many past their shelf lives. But they are still collecting hundreds of thousands or millions annually, to fatten their bank accounts that they will have serious trouble using them.

For every one of these super elite, the amount paid could have been spread to hundreds or thousands of more needy people and make their lives so much better. On the other hand, paying these elites another million or a few more hundreds of thousands has become meaningless. It does not make a difference in their lives anymore than for them to smile at the bank statements showing how much more they are getting, that is if their face muscles still allow them to smile.

It is not that they are all worthless and not contributing or useless in what they are doing. The point is that they are in semi retirement, in retirement, or some, just passing time attending board meetings. But the most pertinent point is that what they are taking from the system is taking a toll on the income of many people, and making the lives of many people less comfortable. This need not be.

And this pool of super elites is swelling by the days. They are going to live till 80s or 90s, which means that the system must cater a budget to pay them the ransom they are demanding. The system cannot afford to keep feeding a group of super elites, oldies, that kind of obscene payouts for 30 or 40 years each. The money must come from somewhere. Where do you think this money is coming from? Who do you think is paying for them?

This system of paying the super elites crazily when they don’t need the money is best to be toned down, give them a small honorarium for their presence and wisdom. It is already an honour to have them, to give them some purpose and a little contribution, a status, a recognised position, a big title in some cases. What more do they want when money is no longer an issue in their lives?

It is necessary to redistribute the wealth of the country to those who really need them and not to those who don’t need them, those with abundance of money, and doing really very little except to grace the occasion and be in good company, to be adored in reverence.

NTUC helping PMEs

‘During the first “Future Leaders Summit” organised by NTUC yesterday (15 Jun) aimed at reaching out to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How said NTUC will do more to help the PMEs.

This will include providing assistance in skills upgrading, and more seminars and workshops….

He said, “The PMEs would also certainly face challenges at work, both in terms of looking for work, or placement, as well as progression – how they can make good in their respective careers….’

How to help the PMEs when they do not know how? Ask a simple question, why are the foreign and local companies employing foreigners instead of Singaporeans? Definitely the Singaporeans, schooled in the best universities and colleges, some with big city and big corporate experiences, cannot be worst off than those from third world countries even if their qualifications and experience are genuine. All things being equal, it can only mean that whatever training or courses we are giving or are going to give are inferior or not the right thing to give. It is better to send these PMEs for courses in third world countries or get the third world countries to come here and train our first world PMEs on how to find a job, how to qualify and upgrade themselves to make them more marketable. It is so sick to think that this is what our super talents believe in.

This is the reality on the ground, not training for the sake of training as if it is the panacea for employment and getting a good job. The other reality, a very painful one that the govt is still not doing much about it, is that the employment agencies and the foreign companies chose to recruit and employ their own kind. Why don’t our own employment agencies and govt and govt linked companies do the same, employ our own kind? This simple act of positive discrimination for our own citizens will solve all the PME problems. No need to waste time and resources on courses and training.

The assumption that our PMEs are not suitably qualified or lack the skills is false. Yes, our PMEs are being cheated of jobs here.

And the sad part is the local companies, including govt and GLCs are also happily and busily employing foreigners and not Singaporeans. For every foreigner our govt and GLCs employed, one Singaporean missed the boat. It is bull to say that the tens of thousands of Singaporeans are only good to drive taxis.

You want the truth?

Another reason to go to Hong Lim

MOE Offers SIA Youth Scholarship for Indian Students Only

Indiancolleges.com, 15 Jun 2013
Ministry of Education, Singapore is offering SIA Youth scholarship for Indian students in Singapore.
Study Subject(s): Courses offered by Singapore Junior Colleges.
Course Level: Scholarship is available for pursuing Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (or equivalent) certificate.
Eligibility:
-Nationals of India
-Born between 1995 and 1997
-Completed Standard 10 in the Year 2013
-Possess outstanding academic track record (at least an average of 85% / minimum ‘A’ with English as first language in the Standard 10 State/National examinations)
Duration of award(s): The Scholarship is for 2 years of Pre-University studies in selected Singapore Junior Colleges and is renewed annually subject to the satisfactory performance of the scholar.
What does it cover?
-Annual allowance of S$2,400 with hostel accommodation
-Settling-in allowance of S$500 (once only)
-Return economy class air passage
-Coverage of school fees (excluding miscellaneous fees)
-Coverage of GCE ‘A’ Level examination fees (once only)
-Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover.
How to Apply: There are 2 modes of application — online or hardcopy application. Each applicant should submit only ONE application and the online mode is recommended. Please do not send in a hardcopy application if you have already applied for the scholarship online and vice versa.
Scholarship Application Deadline: July 14, 2013

I copied the above from Singapore News Alternative. I presume that this is real and not a hoax.

Can we spend the money on our children?  I am sure this is not the only advert to one country. There must be more adverts to other countries? How many such scholarships will be given out and how much is the total? Can the MP ask in Parliament how much money have been spent on these scholarships and what is the annual budget. Also why is the govt spending money on other people’s children and not on our children? Is it because we got poor stock?

Why keep throwing taxpayers money to foreigners and children of foreigners? This is our money and any govt spending the people’s money better account to the people.

Deregulation is good for the banking and finance industry?

Who said so? The West said so. The bankers in New York and London said so. So we just follow, blindly, and things will be just fine. Today’s frontpage news,

‘SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has censured 20 banks in Singapore, after completing a year-long review of their rate-setting processes.
Singapore's central bank also wants to introduce a new regulatory framework to criminalise any future rate fixing activity.

Three local banks and 17 foreign banks have been censured by the MAS.
The local banks are OCBC, DBS and UOB.

The foreign banks are ING, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Macquarie, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC and Commerzbank.

133 traders from these banks tried to manipulate the Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR), the SWAP offered rates and foreign exchange spot benchmarks….’

The above is quoted from Channel News Asia online.

When the last financial crisis hit, the world’s financial institutions and framework were threatened to go down and collapse. Thanks to all the great recommendations for deregulations to allow the bankers to do as they pleased. And no man of any importance was found guilty or put behind bars for the crisis. The govts of the West could not find anyone doing anything wrong. How could they when the govts approved of what they were doing? Everything was legal and all approved by the govts. Oh, just one and because he was mad. It was written in his name, Madoff. So this Madoff was the only one found mad enough to be caught.

And did they know what caused the financial crisis? Yes. And did they do anything to prevent it? No? The whole damn system of frauds continues to run merrily in ever bigger scale and churning more paper profits.

So now what, 20 banks and 133 traders were caught here! Would any big fish going to answer or be put behind bars? No. I don’t think they can find anyone with a name ‘mad’ to nail. And ‘There was no evidence of “successful manipulation”.’ So most of them will get away scot free ya? Maybe a few small guys will be made an example of. The rest will get a tap on the wrist. Be good, be nice. Go home now.

And a big pleasant surprise, MAS is going to introduce new regulations and make some of these fraudulent practices criminal. Are we out of our mind? Deregulation is the right thing and the right way to go. More regulations are going against the recommendations from the Mecca of world finance.
Maybe we have come to our senses, that all that glitters from the West is not really gold. We need to find our own footings and do what is right from what we know best. It is time to stop blindly following the mad and irresponsible West in their destruction of the financial system. It is time to take stock, do the right thing, get rid of all the snake oils and dangerous products being sold here. Return the banking and finance system to basics, to the real business of banking and finance and not gambling and horse racing.

A few regulations are not going to help. It is the whole system designed by the West and the toxic products that need to be thrown out of the window. It is time to stop hiring the crooks from Wall Street and Fleet Street. It is time to send them home. It is time to do the right thing to protect our banking and financial system, to slow down, to scale down the wild wild west, free wheeling nonsense. As a financial centre, it is time to reset the standard and adapt only the safe practices, and be prepared to lower the expectations of the cowboy robber bankers. Only then can our system be shielded from the wild swings and frauds of the western system. We need to find our own way. The present one is flawed and treacherous.

There is an urgent need for a think tank group to examine what were wrongs and fraudulent practices and to make amends quickly.

Social Media, the new fourth estate that cannot be ignored

It is about 10 years since the internet becomes another serious source of news and voice for the masses here. The lighter touch by the Govt, should the citizens be grateful to this, has allowed social media to gain acceptance by people seeking a more honest view of things and events in the country. Of course social media will have its hordes of very one sided view bloggers, just like main media. But on the whole the more rational middle ground is emerging to give more credibility to social media as an alternative voice.

The recent events surrounding so many controversial issues have enhanced the status and importance of social media for that perspective that cannot be found in the main media. Social media is gaining an ever larger group of followers and readers seeking for the truth, a balance to the one sided reporting of main media.

The new role of social media can be seen in the recent protests in Hong Lim Park. Though these events were strangely not reported in the main media until the day after, social media is now able to inform and mobilize the public to attend such events of mass appeal. More national issues that somehow would not be spoken off in the main media, like AIM, or understandable issues, will see more coverage by social media. Yes, social media has its role cut out with the main media doing what is the right thing and reporting on the right thing.

The social media will report on its own version of the right thing, with scars and warts and stench. In this aspect, the main media has no equal and cannot compete. And social media is there for free, and written by volunteers whose qualifications and integrity are no lesser than those paid reporters and journalists.

Another role that will take on more prominence in social media is to demand for action from public and private institutions. It was the norm in the past to write to the main media for complaints and grievances of the small people that were ignored by institutions. Writing to the main media, and if found suitable by the editors, would elicit immediate responses from the agency or institution concerned. The qualification is suitability in the judgement of the editors. If it was found unsuitable, then it would not see daylight.

Social media will not enforce such censorship. Everything will be published except the outright objectionable. So, genuine complaints and grievances will enjoy air time in social media as they are. And no institutions can afford to ignore what is written in social media. Social media cannot be ignored.

Politically the Govt has come to accept the increasing role of social media and likely to make readings of what were published in social media necessary, particularly the well established websites. Many people are also attracted to the refreshing angles of news and views of social media and making social media a must read daily.

This is what the fourth estate is all about. The old fourth estate in the guise of the main media has been found dead, strangled and buried. The new fourth estate in the form of social media is doing what it should do and expected to do, the conscience of society. It is the real fourth estate that cannot be shut down or gagged. It is fluid, formless and elusive and will slip through any dragnet to emerge stronger, across oceans, and more relevant and more needed by the masses, to represent the interest of the masses against any oppressive regimes.

The role of social media is still in the process of defining itself. And this is only its nascent stage.

The tragic choice of a troubled and distraught mother

We have all read about the 31 year old unemployed mother who dropped her 9 year old son from her flat. The poor child died. The poor child was a special needs child, needing special attention and special school. The poor mother had to stop work to look after him full time. And she has only her own mother to support her with her mother’s miserable income of $1,000 pm. Yes, a $1,000 income in the richest country in the world is miserable, barely enough to keep one alive. Some will disagree and claim that a $1,000 income could afford to buy a public flat and get by. Well some will believe it is possible.

How could three persons, an old lady, a young mother and a special needs child lived on a $1,000 income. Maybe there were some handouts from the govt or some charitable organizations. This is a tragic story of the lives of three miserable beans trying to get by in one of the most expensive country in the world.

How many of you think it is easy to live with $1,000? After deducting some of the compulsory bills and expenses there would be nothing much left. The three would be lucky if the remainder was enough just for food and nothing else. No matter how reclusive a life they led, there must be plenty of other expenses to pay for, the schooling for the child, the medical expenses, and what not.

What choice is there for the young woman, for the poor child and the poor grandmother? What kind of existence, with money not enough, and with nothing but a life centred on caring for the needs of the special child. Don’t ask me.

Anyone in this most expensive city in Asia and probably the whole world, if struck by a sickness that needs repetitive care and medicine, unless one is a millionaire, how many will earn enough just to take care of the medical needs and medical bills? A person with kidney problem and needing dialysis, mind you the cheapest is still going to cost at least a $1000 a month if I am not wrong. An aged or invalid in a nursing home is going to cost a couple of thousands at the lower end and pray no extra medical costs. There are those that need chemotherapy, physiotherapy or ‘whateverapy’, as long as the treatment is prolong, the poor chap is going to be bankrupt in no time, or the poor chap is going to bankrupt the family members.

Long term medical care, long term care for the special needs children, long term care for the aged etc etc are very unaffordable. Many families are shouldering such emotional baggage and financial burden and only they themselves understand the meaning of medical cost.

The poor woman, now in prison for delivering her son, would probably think it is better to end it all. The poor child will be her life of living hell. She would have nothing else to live for short of a miracle, a little mercy from some kind souls.

How many people are in the same plight, and pondering to do the same, to end it all, in the most expensive city in the world where every one other person is a millionaire or half a millionaire? Not many of these millionaires or half a millionaires can afford a long term illness or long term care for a member of his/her family. It is no joke.

The poor woman in prison is likely to remain in prison for the rest of her life. She just switched from a prison without bars to behind bars. The latter may be less demanding financially and emotionally less draining. At least she will have a life of her own to live for, behind bars. At least she set free the poor boy trapped in a flawed body. Some may disagree and think it is better for the boy to continue to live. What about her mother, now with all $1,000 to herself for as long as she can work?

US China relationship, a changing balance

The ex CIA agent seek protection in Hongkong/China from the Americans has become the next most famous case after Julian Assange to thumb his nose at the empire. The Americans are furious and demanded for more information and the whereabouts of Edward Snowden from China. They are applying to extradite Snowden from Hongkong to the US. Would it happen? Or would China squeeze the Americans by the balls, as had the Americans did it to China for decades and in so many cases in the past?

China has responded to the Americans by claiming ignorance. They did not know of Snowden’s whereabout or anything that Snowden has leaked. Is this not familiar? This is the exact reply and position taken by the Americans whenever there is a dissident hiding in the US or helped by the US to escape to the West. The Americans would simply answer, ‘We don’t know’. So China is learning from the Americans, ‘We don’t know.’

The strange thing is that an American now feels that China is a place he can feel safe from the clutches of USA, the evil empire. Before this event, the safe heaven is always North America. And dissidents escaped from everywhere, from China, to be safe in America.

Would there be more western dissidents seeking solace, comfort and safety in China? Heheheh. The wind is changing direction.

And oooooohhhh, Edward Snowden has disclosed that the Americans have been hacking into China and Hongkong since 2009. And the Americans are accusing the Chinese of hacking into American institutions as if the Americans were all so innocent. Tsk, tsk, tsk….And perhaps Obama was so happy to use this incident to pressure Xi or to embarrass him in the recent visit. Perhaps Xi is now on the hot line to Obama asking him if he cares to explain.

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

The exuberance of foreigners working in this little island is understandable. They need not be at top management to be able to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And if they do rise to top management level this is heaven on earth. After their stint in the island, with good quality living and a reasonable income, many would have made a small fortune to bring home and live a life very much better than their contemporaries. Many could even join the ranks of nouve riche back in their countries.

Look at the Singaporean counterparts, the citizens of this island. Unless one is in the top 10 or 20 percent of the income bracket, many will remain in the asset rich and cash poor category, feeling rich but living from hand to mouth, every month just enough. Many will remain living in their HDB flats, unable to own a car, and trying to feel good, to justify taking public transport to work or to play.

Where is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the average Singaporeans? Many of the PRC Chinese, India Indians, the Pinoys, Malaysians, and other Southeast Asians will be returning home rich while just an average Joe here, earning much less than the average Singaporeans. Isn’t it an irony, a kind of sick joke, that many of the citizens of one of the richest country in the world will spend the rest of their lives chasing the rainbow but not finding the pot of gold. On the other hand, the average foreigners are all counting the days when they can return home rich, some very very rich. Many will have their dreams fulfilled with great certainty.

Why like dat huh?

The irrational fears of the Americans

Actually the fears are not irrational but concocted in one way and a self inflicted fear in another way. The Americans could not stomach the huge trade deficits they have had with the Chinese and the huge debt that they owed to the Chinese. But they cannot help not wanting to trade with the Chinese, buying extremely cheap products, or keep selling Treasury notes to the Chinese. No other country could sell them reasonable products at ridiculously low prices, and no country will buy Treasury notes in such big numbers. In fact the Americans were begging the Chinese to do so. The Chinese are funding the Americans in their big spending appetite and consumption. The Chinese are extending credits to the Americans to live a good life.

And the Americans keep blaming the Chinese for taking advantage of cheap Yuan to make their products cheaper. Unfair trading practices! The Yuan must rise to make Chinese products more expensive to buy. Is that what the Americans really want? Now the Chinese have gone ahead to appease the Americans by allowing the Yuan to rise. It has gone up by more than 10% since the American Congress started to rattle the sabre.

So now what? Aren’t the Americans happy that they have forced the Chinese to heel? They should, they got what they wanted. But everything is a double edged sword. Now there is a new heighten fear in America. With the appreciating Yuan, everything in America becomes cheaper for the Chinese to buy. With more than 3 trillion US dollars in their war chest, the Chinese could buy up quite a bit of America. The big names are going, Walmart, Apple, Boeing, General Electric, General Motor, the banks and finance houses etc etc.

But of course the Americans are not going to sell. And this is the main reason why they are having such a huge trade deficit with the Chinese. The Americans just want to buy from the Chinese but did not want to sell to the Chinese. How silly? Oh, there is a long list of strategic reasons not to sell to the Chinese. Everything can be explained in terms of national security. So military stuff is off the shelf. Then strategic products, aircraft, electronics, ITs and financial institutions, mines, golf courses, everything can be explained in terms of national security too.

Believe it, the buying of a hog factory producing food, also came under heavy fire for strategic reasons. Food is strategic, sure, of course. What else is not? Educating the Chinese in American universities is transfer of knowledge and technology. The Chinese should be barred from being schooled in America. Better still, the Chinese should be barred from entering the US. And there should not be any trades with the Chinese, not even peanuts as this is also a food item.

Well well, what else is new in the brilliant American mindset? Is it irrational? Can the top thinkers or congressmen and women be irrational?

Dengue epidemic reaching a critical level

More than 9500 cases so far this year or 1,500 cases a month. Last week alone 820 cases were reported. Vivian Balakrishnan is warning the public that this may become more serious if the spread of the disease is not controlled. It is spreading from the East to the West of the island or is it from the West to the East?

For the first time I read that 1.2m insect repellants will be distributed for free! At $5 a can, that is $6m. This is to prevent people from being bitten by the mosquitoes in their homes.

Being bitten is one way the disease will spread. The mosquitoes will carry the viruses to pass on to the next victim. So anyone falling sick because of dengue is going to be a carrier. And if they did not seek treatment or cannot afford to seek treatment, they will be a walking carrier, feeding the mosquitoes with more viruses to pass around.

Apart from giving free insect repellants, maybe it is time that all dengue patients should be given free medical treatment. This will encourage every dengue patient to come forward for treatment and will cut down the source of virus carriers in the chain.

Would this be possible? Free medical treatment for a near epidemic disease that is starting to take lives? Would there be affected patients who chose not to see the doctor because they could not afford the fee? If you think this a joke, read what Vivian has to say,

"Infectious diseases are a test of special cohesion as a society and we need everyone to understand that our own health depends on the health of our neighbours and we need to exercise personal and collective responsibility for each other."

An infectious disease that is spreading in the community is not the problem of an individual. It is not a heart problem that stays with the sick person. It is a living sickness that is going to be passed around. This will take commercial interest of selling drugs at a profit to selling drugs to prevent an epidemic. Can the govt say no money no drugs, no treatment?

PAP, the most confident supreme political party ever

I am going to write something in praise of this great political Party. It has been so successful for so long that even its opponents have conceded that the Party will continue to rule till kingdom comes. I would like to caution readers that some of you may find the content upsetting, uncomfortable, unbearable and nauseating. Those with a weak stomach may choose to skip reading from here.

Historically I don’t think any political party has ever enjoyed such high popularity and dominating the Parliament with more than two third majority for so long, and be able to make changes to the country’s constitution almost at will for the good of the country and people.

The best part about the dominance and confidence of this Party is its ability to push through very unpopular policies with no fear of losing the votes from the people. Take the population growth as an example. It brought in about 2m foreigners into the country within a decade or so as if it was just a walk in the park. For the uninitiated, 2m is more than 50 percent of the citizen population. By the time the citizens realized it, it was too late to do anything. And better still, the Party even pushed through a very unpopular Population White Paper in the face of strong objections from the people to bring in another 1.7m people by year 2030. Oops, it was only a planning parameter.

By the time IF the new arrivals arrived, the Singaporean core will be an absolute minority. But the Party could convince the Singaporeans that the Singaporean core will be strengthened as a result of the immigrants. Simply brilliant.

The unpopularity of this Paper led to an unprecedented public protest, twice within a few months and with a crowd that was unseen before. Who dares to protest when 4 persons are considered illegal assembly?

And knowing how unhappy the people are, the party simply ignored the people, thumping its nose as if there is nothing the people can do about it. Any political party acting in this manner will find itself out of power before one can finish saying hallelujah. There will be protests and street demonstrations to remove the party. But no, the PAP is confident that nothing will be able to rock it from power. It will be in power despite the people’s unhappiness and protests cause it was doing the right thing.

The huge influx of people into the little island led to the inevitables, high cost of living, high property and car prices and congestion in roads and public transport and many more problems. And these problems were compounded by the housing ministry for slowing down its housing programme to a trickle. Such a huge housing problem would have thrown any political party out of govt. But the Party knew the people very well, that the people loved what the Party had done, the high property prices, the high car prices and the high cost of living were happily embraced, quietly, with just a little show of public disapproval.

The unhappiness expressed was not real. The Party knew what the people wanted and gave it to them. As long as property prices keep going north, the people would not be bothered even with their CPF statements and the money in the CPF. The minister may be smiling at his CPF statements, the people will be laughing everyday at their high property prices.

Many jobs were given to foreigners and many local professionals have been booted out. So what? These are the minorities and likely to be the losers, the untalented and undeserving. What would the people expect the Govt to do? Nothing really. A few statements that the govt understood the problem would be enough to appease the people. The people would not remember the problem the day after. The govt is also giving a lot of top management and CEO jobs to foreigners instead of Singaporeans and it knows that Singaporeans would not mind. This is a necessary move as no Singaporeans are good enough. So there is no complains.

The number of unemployed due to this will be too small to affect the Party from being elected again and again. The less experienced and less confident political parties would be having cold sweat alienating these voters, but not the PAP. While losing a few votes, they are getting more votes from new citizens who are so happy and grateful to the Party for the opportunities given to them.

Some parents have been forced to empty their savings for their children’s overseas education. They complained like having a lot of grievances against the Party. Would the Party worry? Definitely not. For every unhappy parent, the Party is making many more parents happy. And there are foreigners who are invited and paid to study in local universities, given jobs and are only too happy. As long as the Party knows that it is making more people happy than unhappy people, it is in good shape.

Many Singaporeans seem to think that the Party will be voted out of power by making so many unpopular decisions and anti citizen policies. But they are damn wrong. The Party knows that it is doing the right things and the people may grumble, but deep inside, the people knew that all the things done were good for the people.

That is why the Party can continue to do the right things without fear of losing power. They don’t even have to listen to the people, and know that things will be just like they have planned, in 2016, 2021 or further away. There is no way for this Party to lose power. People may deceive themselves to think that the Party is doing all the wrong things and its days are limited. Don’t bet on that. The little noises over the new media regulations will be just a little noise and will not mean anything in the 2016 GE.

Sorry to disappoint you guys thinking that 2016 will see a change. How can PAP be doing so many unpopular things to get itself out of Parliament? Cannot right? This is the most confident political Party ever existed in human history, and it knows exactly what it is doing. It may even win more seats by 2016, retake Aljunied GRC as well. There is no political party like the PAP.

I feel so good writing this article.

A betrayal of trust

‘This lens makes you more likely to share the distinct strands of libertarianism that are blossoming in this fragmenting age: the deep suspicion of authority, the strong belief that hierarchies and organizations are suspect, the fervent devotion to transparency, the assumption that individual preference should be supreme….

Another is the rising tide of distrust, the corrosive spread of cynicism, the fraying of the social fabric and the rise of people who are so individualistic in the outlook that they have no real understanding of how to knit others together and look after the common good….For a society to function well, there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures….

He betrayed honesty and integrity, the foundation of all cooperative activity. He made explicit and implicit oaths to respect the secrecy of the information with which he was entrusted. He betrayed his oaths. He betrayed his friends. He betrayed his employers. He betrayed the cause of open government.’

The above is an extract of an article by David Brooks in the New York Times and reprinted in the Today paper today. Brooks used this article to thrash Edward Snowden, the young CIA spy that exposed the dirty works of the US Administration for spying on its own citizens in a scale never seen before, an outright violation of individual rights to privacy in the name of good for country and people.

The assumptions of Brooks are that the US Govt is honest, clean and virtuous and doing the honourable and right thing. Is that so? Or is the US Govt violating everything there is in the Constitution, abusing its power and privileges, and betraying the people, betraying its citizens and a scum in all counts? When a govt indulges in dirty schemes and things against its citizens, it is the govt that is betraying the people. And other than an exposure like what Snowden did, there is really nothing much the common folks can do to a rogue govt.

What is the moral of the story? A govt needs to act in a way that earns respect and trust from its citizens. When a govt betrays its citizens, there is nothing that the people can do about it except unconstitutionally.

Lesson 2 from China

I would like to bring you back to the 1930s, the days of Shanghai Tang or Shanghai Bund. Those were glorious days of a new but corrupt China under the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai Shek was presumably the President of China and the corrupt elite who thought more of themselves, preserving their personal wealth was the order of the day. There was no accountability and the wealth of the nation was like the private wealth of the elite, Chiang’s family and the Soong family were infamous. The line between what belonged to the country and what belonged to these families were non existence.

No one knew how much money was in the national coffer. They became private fortunes. And when the Kuomintang fell, these families took everything they could and fled. The CCCP were equally blur as to how much were taken out of the country, stolen, by the Kuomintang and the Soong family. The senior Soong was the finance minister then. Without knowing how much was lost, there was nothing that the CCCP could do. And with a hostile West in support of the Kuomintang, the CCCP could not send out hit men like the Israelists to track down the criminals.

Fast forward to 2050 when Singapore still exists but decadent and run by a corrupt govt like the Kuomintang. And the nation’s wealth, the reserves, was still in the country’s two sovereign funds. And the people still did not know how much were in these two funds. Then came the dreadful day when the govt collapsed, brought down by a popular uprising. And the fund managers, the people entrusted with the nation’s reserves in the two sovereign funds, just scooted with the money.

When that happened, when no one knew who were vested with the authority to move the funds, and when no one knew how much was at stake, and if the funds, the nation’s reserves, were to be shipped out of the country, how are these money to be recovered? How would the new govt go about tracking down the people responsible for the money and how much money they have taken out?

This may be a moot point now. But if the non transparent style and policy of managing our national reserves continue into the future, come 2050, there will be a little problem. It would be old China once again. Money stolen and gone, and no one is wiser, except the ones holding the money bag.

Ex CIA man says exposed US spy scheme to protect the world

By Mark Hosenball and Richard Cowan

‘WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An ex-CIA employee working as a contractor at the U.S. National Security Agency said on Sunday he was the source who leaked details of a top secret U.S. surveillance program, acting out of conscience to protect "basic liberties for people around the world."… Edward Snowden, 29, said he had thought long and hard before publicizing details of an NSA program code-named PRISM, saying he had done so because he felt the United States was building an unaccountable and secret espionage machine that spied on every American.

Snowden, a former technical assistant at the CIA, said he had been working at the super-secret NSA as an employee of contractor Booz Allen. He said he decided to leak information after becoming disenchanted with President Barack Obama, who he said had continued the policies of predecessor George W. Bush.’

The greatness of the American people is that once in a while there will be honourable men and women who were pricked by their conscience to stand out and tell the ugly truth to protect fellow citizens. There were Woodward and Bernstein of Watergate, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange of the Wikileak, and now this leak that revealed some of the obnoxious things the American Administration is doing in the name of good for the country.

Many leaders of democratic countries, walking under the halo of goodness, conduct and act in very dubious manners, even targeting their own citizens. And not many countries have civil servants who are honourable and brave enough to expose their evil political leaders. Some even drink from the same cup and enjoy the holy patronage and largesse.

This is what Snowden said, "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that (US$200k salary) because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

Free our Internet.

Vivian Balakrishnan making a political comeback?

‘Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has joined in the hawker centres’ cleaning disputes.

He said it is “arrogant and wrong” of Ms Sylvia Lim to make a political attack on National Environment Agency (NEA) officers for simply doing their job….’

Vivian is calling Sylvia Lim arrogant and wrong for taking a shot at NEA in the hawker centre cleaning dispute. So who is arrogant and who is not arrogant, and who is right and who is wrong?

Vivian has been out of the limelight for a while after the Youth Festival and the acrimony he incurred for blowing the budget by an astronomical sum. Netizens were quite hostile to him and only stopped when he went out of sight and out of the news media. He was eclipsed politically.

Vivian’s latest attack at Sylvia Lim is unwise as the bad blood against him is still there. What is he hoping to do by this attack? To defend his NEA officers is one thing, to attack another politician by calling Sylvia arrogant is not going to be well received. If he is thinking of making a political comeback, to be in the lime light again, he will be surprised. He will hoard the limelight for sure, but for all the wrong reasons and he might regret making this latest statement.

Personally I think his political career is over, even if he is fielded in the next GE. His public image is far from the early days when he entered politics or before he entered politics. He is always remembered for his infamous reply to Lily Neo in Parliament. That is quite a chip to get rid off from his shoulder.