The Chinese and Koreans are incensed whenever the Japanese paid tribute
to their war heroes enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine. To the Chinese and
Koreans, and this should also apply to all the Southeast Asian states,
the war criminals in the Shrine were criminals and nothing else.
The Indonesian marines that bombed MacDonald House in 1965 killing 3 and
wounding 33 Sinkies were terrorists as far as Singapore is concerned.
To the Indonesians, the marines were their heroes. And they are naming a
naval frigate KRI Usman Harun in their names to honour their heroic
act.
This has drawn immediate reactions from Chee Hian, Eng Hen and Shanmugam
who called their Indonesian counterparts to register our misgivings.
The Indonesian stand, across their leadership, is consistent. It is
their right to recognize their heroes who died in the course of duty to
country even if it meant bombing and killing people in enemy countries
that are now friends.
The KRI Usman Harun will be a rude reminder of what the Indonesians did
to Singapore like the Yasukuni Shrine is to the Chinese and Koreans. We
do not see or feel the significance of the Yasukuni Shrine and the
visits by Japanese leaders to the Shrine and its implications. Other
countries too would not understand or appreciate why we were aggrieved
by the naming of KRI Usman Harun. It would become extra sensitive if
this ship were to visit Singapore waters or if our naval ships were to
engage in joint military exercises with the Indonesians.
Now we have a sore wound to rub with the Indonesians whenever KRI Usman
Harun is seen or heard just like what Yasukuni is to the Chinese and
Koreans. Maybe we can now appreciate why the Koreans and Chinese reacted
that way and the mindset of the Japanese for their unfriendly and
insensitive ways, like what the Indonesians are doing in this case.
No doubt they have the right to honour their heroes that are terrorists
and executed by us after their attacks on our soil. The Indonesians have
said the protest by Singapore is noted and the case is closed. Let’s
move on.
How would Singapore react to this insensitivity of the Indonesians and our sensitivity to the act going forward? Should we erect two stones at the site of MacDonald House for Sinkies to throw stones at them?
2/07/2014
The future is bright for Sinkies
Try reading the titles of the two articles below to get a grasp of the
direction and the opportunities available for young Sinkies.
‘PM Lee assures young Singaporeans future is bright opportunities are plentiful – Singapolitics.sg’ and ‘Singapore government looking to encourage young Singaporeans to become carpenters with training and “rebranding”’.
This is no joking matter, serious. It was reported from as far as China and by China.org.cn and I quote, ‘The NTUC, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council also jointly launched a 3.5 million dollar program to train 180 carpenters in the next two years. The funding will cover their training and salary subsidies for employers. They are also considering efforts to rebrand carpenters as creative craftsmen to woo the young people.’
With the launch of this scheme they might bring in Chinese carpenters, oops I mean creative craftsmen masters, to train our young in creative carpentry. And this is not the first time ministers are talking about retraining our young. Some have been encouraged to become hawkers and crane drivers. Some have been encouraged not to pursue a tertiary education.
I wonder who Lucas Film are recruiting if young Sinkies are not encouraged to do tertiary education or IT related staff but to be hawkers and carpenters. I am too used to call a carpenter a carpenter and still have difficulties calling them creative craftsmen. There may be a rebranding of our hawkers to something like Tropical Alfesco Chef. Sounds great right? Hope it will be attractive enough to lure our young into making hawking a career.
‘PM Lee assures young Singaporeans future is bright opportunities are plentiful – Singapolitics.sg’ and ‘Singapore government looking to encourage young Singaporeans to become carpenters with training and “rebranding”’.
This is no joking matter, serious. It was reported from as far as China and by China.org.cn and I quote, ‘The NTUC, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council also jointly launched a 3.5 million dollar program to train 180 carpenters in the next two years. The funding will cover their training and salary subsidies for employers. They are also considering efforts to rebrand carpenters as creative craftsmen to woo the young people.’
With the launch of this scheme they might bring in Chinese carpenters, oops I mean creative craftsmen masters, to train our young in creative carpentry. And this is not the first time ministers are talking about retraining our young. Some have been encouraged to become hawkers and crane drivers. Some have been encouraged not to pursue a tertiary education.
I wonder who Lucas Film are recruiting if young Sinkies are not encouraged to do tertiary education or IT related staff but to be hawkers and carpenters. I am too used to call a carpenter a carpenter and still have difficulties calling them creative craftsmen. There may be a rebranding of our hawkers to something like Tropical Alfesco Chef. Sounds great right? Hope it will be attractive enough to lure our young into making hawking a career.
Following the Americans blindly into the shit hole
The USA is a great country by accident. It was discovered by incident
and became an Empire by incident. It is a country that fumbles along but
with the help of providence and an abundance of wealth built from the
blood of the native Red Indians and the sweat of the African slaves, and
China coolies, continues to grow and prosper. God is biased when one
knows how much cruelty and savagery the Americans have committed in the
past and in recent history and still doing everyday.
The USA benefitted from an open door policy, initially very selective and racist, and benefitted from the ablest people around the world. It is still having an open door policy today to welcome people across the world. But there is a big difference between and open door policy and an open leg policy of a small island city.
There is another big difference in what the Americans can do and get away with it and what we can’t get away with it. They have a continent as a country and a large European based majority to form the core of the population. Whatever core we think we have could easily become a minority or even be wiped out if we are silly enough. We are too small and too little in people to follow the Americans blindly in letting everyone in and thinking we have space for the whole wide world. The Americans can let in another 100m people with no strains on their system. Another 3m is enough to through our little island into a mess, suffocated and unable to move.
The other crazy thing we are following the Americans and thinking it is the right thing is their financial system, their stock market system, and all and sundries in derivatives and fraudulent products and allowing conmen, cheats and fraudsters to run their finance and banking industries. The fact that nearly every one of their big banks is in debts, and literally bankrupt if the books are not cooked, should send a chill down the spines of our leaders. No, they are so brave, wondering if brave is the right word, to imitate and follow the Americans blindly down to the road to financial destruction. We forgot we don’t have a printing machine to print fiat money at will, we don’t have a greenback that is the default currency of the world, and we don’t have a multi trillion economy to absorb the losses.
The American banking and finance system are fake, the greenback’s strength is fake, their corporate leaders are fake, the accounts of their big banks are fake in chalking up billions of easy profits. How could banks make that kind of money so easily is still puzzling , other than pure gambling and selling gambling chits in the forms of derivatives. They will wait for the next downturn to open their books and declare bankruptcy all over again and asking for govt handouts.
We are following the Americans in their ‘unlimited money’ defence policy, always buying the best and most expensive equipment for the military and thinking we are going to take on the Russians or the Chinese or another superpower, and to be the policemen of the world. The Americans have a lot of reserves to squander, and a self arrogated role as the Empire and policemen of the world. What are we and why are we behaving like the Americans and spending like the Americans? When we are broke, we are broke for good and to recover our losses would take a few generations.
We are also stupidly plunging ourselves into the same dangerous health and financial scams of the Americans, allowing health cost to run wild and trying to chase it with an equally wild health insurance scheme and ending like a dog chasing its tail. We knew long before that the American healthcare and insurance scams are not sustainable. We blindly allowed our healthcare and insurance systems to go down the American way. We will inherit and face the same problems as the Americans in an outrageously expensive healthcare system compounded by and equally scam health insurance scheme that benefit the health and insurance workers at the expense of the people, allowing the two industries to rob the people at will and with higher and higher cost.
We cannot be like the Americans. We don’t have the size and resources and the exceptionalism to loot, rape, kill, murder and squander without bringing the whole country and the people to bankruptcy.
Our exceptionalism in paying ‘out of this world’ salaries to immortals should pay back in kind with wisdoms to avoid the pitfalls of the Americans. The truth is that we are sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss by imitating the Americans without thinking. Our financial system and stock market are screwed, our health and insurance system are also screwed, our immigration policy is screwed doubly hard, and our defence spending is still having a party like money is never an issue. We can’t print money like the Americans and buying the most expensive toys available. We cannot practice exceptionalism like the Americans. We have no depth, no history and no resources to fall back on.
We are just a flash in history and could be history at the slightest turn of events.
Kopi level - Green
The USA benefitted from an open door policy, initially very selective and racist, and benefitted from the ablest people around the world. It is still having an open door policy today to welcome people across the world. But there is a big difference between and open door policy and an open leg policy of a small island city.
There is another big difference in what the Americans can do and get away with it and what we can’t get away with it. They have a continent as a country and a large European based majority to form the core of the population. Whatever core we think we have could easily become a minority or even be wiped out if we are silly enough. We are too small and too little in people to follow the Americans blindly in letting everyone in and thinking we have space for the whole wide world. The Americans can let in another 100m people with no strains on their system. Another 3m is enough to through our little island into a mess, suffocated and unable to move.
The other crazy thing we are following the Americans and thinking it is the right thing is their financial system, their stock market system, and all and sundries in derivatives and fraudulent products and allowing conmen, cheats and fraudsters to run their finance and banking industries. The fact that nearly every one of their big banks is in debts, and literally bankrupt if the books are not cooked, should send a chill down the spines of our leaders. No, they are so brave, wondering if brave is the right word, to imitate and follow the Americans blindly down to the road to financial destruction. We forgot we don’t have a printing machine to print fiat money at will, we don’t have a greenback that is the default currency of the world, and we don’t have a multi trillion economy to absorb the losses.
The American banking and finance system are fake, the greenback’s strength is fake, their corporate leaders are fake, the accounts of their big banks are fake in chalking up billions of easy profits. How could banks make that kind of money so easily is still puzzling , other than pure gambling and selling gambling chits in the forms of derivatives. They will wait for the next downturn to open their books and declare bankruptcy all over again and asking for govt handouts.
We are following the Americans in their ‘unlimited money’ defence policy, always buying the best and most expensive equipment for the military and thinking we are going to take on the Russians or the Chinese or another superpower, and to be the policemen of the world. The Americans have a lot of reserves to squander, and a self arrogated role as the Empire and policemen of the world. What are we and why are we behaving like the Americans and spending like the Americans? When we are broke, we are broke for good and to recover our losses would take a few generations.
We are also stupidly plunging ourselves into the same dangerous health and financial scams of the Americans, allowing health cost to run wild and trying to chase it with an equally wild health insurance scheme and ending like a dog chasing its tail. We knew long before that the American healthcare and insurance scams are not sustainable. We blindly allowed our healthcare and insurance systems to go down the American way. We will inherit and face the same problems as the Americans in an outrageously expensive healthcare system compounded by and equally scam health insurance scheme that benefit the health and insurance workers at the expense of the people, allowing the two industries to rob the people at will and with higher and higher cost.
We cannot be like the Americans. We don’t have the size and resources and the exceptionalism to loot, rape, kill, murder and squander without bringing the whole country and the people to bankruptcy.
Our exceptionalism in paying ‘out of this world’ salaries to immortals should pay back in kind with wisdoms to avoid the pitfalls of the Americans. The truth is that we are sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss by imitating the Americans without thinking. Our financial system and stock market are screwed, our health and insurance system are also screwed, our immigration policy is screwed doubly hard, and our defence spending is still having a party like money is never an issue. We can’t print money like the Americans and buying the most expensive toys available. We cannot practice exceptionalism like the Americans. We have no depth, no history and no resources to fall back on.
We are just a flash in history and could be history at the slightest turn of events.
Kopi level - Green
2/06/2014
So good to play with big money
Just fantasizing, if the $800m to be given to IMF can be given to the
pioneering generation, how much will each person be getting? Ok, not all
$800m, as the increase is from $50m to $800m, an additional $750m that
can be thrown at the pioneering generation is still quite some money.
If only 1,500 are deemed worthy, or lucky to be chosen, $750m means each can get $500K or half a million. If each is to be given $100K, then 7,500 will be lucky ones. Or if the sum is $10K, then 75,000 will get lucky.
Still not sure what are the criteria for the pioneering generation. The groups of seniors that suffered the most and paid the most for building this nation were the first few batches of NS men. They were there when the country needed them most to protect our sovereignty and security. It would be so unfair that they be left out and not regarded as the pioneers of this nation. And if 70 years is the cut of age, then most of the pioneering NS men would not even be considered.
Maybe must ask the people for feedback to set the criteria for pioneering generation. How about giving your feedback to Reach? Or is this another no need feedback matter?
What do you think? Many of the pioneering generation happened to be on the wrong side of the political divide, or the wrong political colour. And many of the chosen ones are likely to be so damn rich that they don’t need a single cent more to bring into their coffins. It would be too heavy to carry for sure. How ah?
If only 1,500 are deemed worthy, or lucky to be chosen, $750m means each can get $500K or half a million. If each is to be given $100K, then 7,500 will be lucky ones. Or if the sum is $10K, then 75,000 will get lucky.
Still not sure what are the criteria for the pioneering generation. The groups of seniors that suffered the most and paid the most for building this nation were the first few batches of NS men. They were there when the country needed them most to protect our sovereignty and security. It would be so unfair that they be left out and not regarded as the pioneers of this nation. And if 70 years is the cut of age, then most of the pioneering NS men would not even be considered.
Maybe must ask the people for feedback to set the criteria for pioneering generation. How about giving your feedback to Reach? Or is this another no need feedback matter?
What do you think? Many of the pioneering generation happened to be on the wrong side of the political divide, or the wrong political colour. And many of the chosen ones are likely to be so damn rich that they don’t need a single cent more to bring into their coffins. It would be too heavy to carry for sure. How ah?
Malaysia MP Teresa Kok receives threats
A video clip on political satire in Malaysia by MP Teresa Kok has gone viral and with the MP receiving threats for being anti Malay. She has also lodged a police report on the threats and asking the police to conduct a fair investigation on the accusation thrown at her and the threats.
In a country when the use of the term Allah by the Christians could lead to the threats of May 13 or killing of the minorities, the non Malays must be very careful in what they say or do. They should be extra sensitive to the feelings and OB areas that would raise more controversies and even threats of violence. A good reminder is the blanking off of pig’s faces in the media and the video of a stupid young couple about bak kut teh during the fasting month. Avoiding such controversies is not only good advice but good for their own well being despite the laws providing freedom of expression and religious practice.
The controversial video is attached below for all to view objectively and to form their own opinion if they so wanted on this matter, at least with an educated and proper knowledge of what it was in the first place. Just a caution, whatever opinions you have it is best to keep it to yourself and if you wish to express them, do not sensationalise it or be too provocative to invite undue reactions. Discuss it maturely and objectively in a calm manner. A lot of restraints are needed even if the issue is across the causeway.
Kopi level - Green
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=JtsRcId70bk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJtsRcId70bk%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player
An arms race that the US cannot afford and cannot win
‘Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, told lawmakers that
when it comes to "technological superiority, the Department of Defence
is being challenged in ways that I have not seen for decades,
particularly in the Asia-Pacific region."’ AFP
China is making big strides in areas of anti ship missiles, in new stealth fighters, hypersonic aircraft and other hi tech weaponry that the Americans are still guessing in the dark, and America could lose its pole position if it does not response effectively to the challenge. This kind of scenario is unthinkable a decade ago and a big joke 30 years ago. The Americans would laugh themselves silly to imagine a poor communist country aeons behind in technology, and very poor economically, could even build an aircraft or submarine let alone challenging American military superiority in the most technologically advanced weaponry.
What Kendall told the House Armed Services Committee is no longer a joke and is being taken very seriously. For a start, China’s A2AD or anti area access denial capabilities are a crippling blow to the American aircraft carrier groups. This would drastically deny their ability to strike at China’s mainland without posing an unacceptable risk of total annihilation of the fleet. The Americans could not longer strike China with impunity and the comfort of safety from being attack.
What is making matter worse is that going on a head on arms race with China is going bankrupt the American Treasury on three grounds. It has very little money left and has to rely heavily on printing more paper money and the consequences of such a reckless adventure are horrendous. The next point is that the cost of maintaining the PLA and all its weaponry is peanuts compare to what it would cost the Americans. It was claimed that the interest alone on the T Bills that the Americans are paying to the Chinese is enough to keep the whole PLA happy.
Then there is the incomparable cost of soldiers and machine. The cost of maintaining a GI could support 100 PLA soldiers, an American fighter plane costs 10 to 20 times more than a Chinese aircraft. Added on to this, to maintain the kind of overall superiority, for every piece of equipment or soldier the PLA has, the Americans need three pieces to keep a healthy balance and advantage.
In short, an arms race would simply bankrupt the Americans. The Americans cannot afford it. The Chinese only need a fleet or two to keep peace in the East and South China Seas. The Americans have to keep fleets in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
The high spending days of the Americans is over. The strategy of maintaining a superior military force world wide based on the most advanced and expensive weaponry is just untenable. The Chinese only need to keep building on what they have and the Americans need to build three times as many and 100 times more in cost.
How long can the Americans stay on to this course of military expansion and expenditure to maintain an offensive military strategy to be able to hit at any country?
Can the Americans afford it? China only needs a cheaper defensive strategy, to keep the enemies at away with no wild ambition to be the policeman or gangster of the world.
China is making big strides in areas of anti ship missiles, in new stealth fighters, hypersonic aircraft and other hi tech weaponry that the Americans are still guessing in the dark, and America could lose its pole position if it does not response effectively to the challenge. This kind of scenario is unthinkable a decade ago and a big joke 30 years ago. The Americans would laugh themselves silly to imagine a poor communist country aeons behind in technology, and very poor economically, could even build an aircraft or submarine let alone challenging American military superiority in the most technologically advanced weaponry.
What Kendall told the House Armed Services Committee is no longer a joke and is being taken very seriously. For a start, China’s A2AD or anti area access denial capabilities are a crippling blow to the American aircraft carrier groups. This would drastically deny their ability to strike at China’s mainland without posing an unacceptable risk of total annihilation of the fleet. The Americans could not longer strike China with impunity and the comfort of safety from being attack.
What is making matter worse is that going on a head on arms race with China is going bankrupt the American Treasury on three grounds. It has very little money left and has to rely heavily on printing more paper money and the consequences of such a reckless adventure are horrendous. The next point is that the cost of maintaining the PLA and all its weaponry is peanuts compare to what it would cost the Americans. It was claimed that the interest alone on the T Bills that the Americans are paying to the Chinese is enough to keep the whole PLA happy.
Then there is the incomparable cost of soldiers and machine. The cost of maintaining a GI could support 100 PLA soldiers, an American fighter plane costs 10 to 20 times more than a Chinese aircraft. Added on to this, to maintain the kind of overall superiority, for every piece of equipment or soldier the PLA has, the Americans need three pieces to keep a healthy balance and advantage.
In short, an arms race would simply bankrupt the Americans. The Americans cannot afford it. The Chinese only need a fleet or two to keep peace in the East and South China Seas. The Americans have to keep fleets in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
The high spending days of the Americans is over. The strategy of maintaining a superior military force world wide based on the most advanced and expensive weaponry is just untenable. The Chinese only need to keep building on what they have and the Americans need to build three times as many and 100 times more in cost.
How long can the Americans stay on to this course of military expansion and expenditure to maintain an offensive military strategy to be able to hit at any country?
Can the Americans afford it? China only needs a cheaper defensive strategy, to keep the enemies at away with no wild ambition to be the policeman or gangster of the world.
2/05/2014
More than just a co driver
My thread, ‘WP, to slap or not to slap the driver’ reposted in TRE is
getting more than 80 emotional comments. Some were angry, some
disappointed while some were sympathetic to the WP. Some were demanding
for more actions from WP to slap the driver real hard.
The main issues are the high expectations they have of the WP and its leadership role as the major opposition party. Many commented that they threw everything behind the WP for one simple reason, to take on the PAP. And they were not mincing their words when this was not seen to be done. As the main opposition party they want the WP to live up to their expectation as there is no other party to do the job in Parliament and out of Parliament. The WP is seen as the white knight, a potential alternative or party in waiting should PAP fall on the wayside.
There are also those who tried to understand the WP for not standing up and be more vociferous in their views on many things and events that were happening. The current position of the WP would cost them some votes for sure, not to the PAP but to other opposition parties that are seen to be doing the work, especially SDP.
An opposition party in the leadership role to lead the rest of the opposition parties, to coordinate and bring them together as an organized and serious political force, is left wanting. The WP is expected to play this role. For the WP to distance itself from it is disappointing. If not the WP who else? It is a responsibility that falls naturally on the most successful opposition party and not taking up the cudgel is seen as shirking from this responsibility.
The WP cannot go it alone if it is to be taken seriously to dislodge the stranglehold of the PAP. They need all the opposition parties, minus those that are questionable, to be on its side to present a united front for those who wanted PAP out. Absconding from doing so, alienating the other opposition parties and adopting a lone ranger small party attitude will do the WP no good. The people are demanding for real change, substantive change, for leadership, and the current strength of the WP is just not up to it to be respected or seen as a serious political force. Just sitting beside the driver as a co driver is not what the people want, not enough to satisfy the needs of the people.
WP must stand up and respond to this undefined role as the leader of the opposition and not hide within its shell. Take the lead is what the people expect of the WP.
Would the WP rise to the challenge or be content to be a little bridesmaid?
The main issues are the high expectations they have of the WP and its leadership role as the major opposition party. Many commented that they threw everything behind the WP for one simple reason, to take on the PAP. And they were not mincing their words when this was not seen to be done. As the main opposition party they want the WP to live up to their expectation as there is no other party to do the job in Parliament and out of Parliament. The WP is seen as the white knight, a potential alternative or party in waiting should PAP fall on the wayside.
There are also those who tried to understand the WP for not standing up and be more vociferous in their views on many things and events that were happening. The current position of the WP would cost them some votes for sure, not to the PAP but to other opposition parties that are seen to be doing the work, especially SDP.
An opposition party in the leadership role to lead the rest of the opposition parties, to coordinate and bring them together as an organized and serious political force, is left wanting. The WP is expected to play this role. For the WP to distance itself from it is disappointing. If not the WP who else? It is a responsibility that falls naturally on the most successful opposition party and not taking up the cudgel is seen as shirking from this responsibility.
The WP cannot go it alone if it is to be taken seriously to dislodge the stranglehold of the PAP. They need all the opposition parties, minus those that are questionable, to be on its side to present a united front for those who wanted PAP out. Absconding from doing so, alienating the other opposition parties and adopting a lone ranger small party attitude will do the WP no good. The people are demanding for real change, substantive change, for leadership, and the current strength of the WP is just not up to it to be respected or seen as a serious political force. Just sitting beside the driver as a co driver is not what the people want, not enough to satisfy the needs of the people.
WP must stand up and respond to this undefined role as the leader of the opposition and not hide within its shell. Take the lead is what the people expect of the WP.
Would the WP rise to the challenge or be content to be a little bridesmaid?
Singapore Maths in Latin America
A few years back we heard that our Maths teaching syllabus for primary
schools were so good that some American schools have started to adopt it
into their systems and were very happy with the results. Today it is
reported that Latin American schools are also happily adopting our Maths
syllabus in their schools in Chile, Columbia and Panama.
Are these countries so out of touch with the real world? At the rate things are going, Singapore will be adopting Indian School syllabus to replace our syllabus. The Indians are producing many bright finance professionals to head big MNC banks and even Singapore banks. Their engineers and IT professionals are also in demand in the West and also in Singapore. This must have a lot to do with the way they are teaching their Maths.
Knowing that Singapore will always rush to whichever country that is producing good results, the way the Indians are teaching their Maths must soon be receiving serious attentions. Somehow our syllabi are not producing the kind of results that we want and many of our graduates are not good enough for anything except to drive taxis. The Sinkies are even discouraged to pursue tertiary education and to spend their energy in highly lucrative professions like hawkers and crane drivers. No university degrees needed.
As change and changing teaching methodology and syllabus are the new constants in Singapore, do not be alarmed if someone would suggest switching to Indian Maths. Some academic has already sang great praises on India’s low cost engineering. This may be introduced sooner in the university than Indian Maths to our schools.
Singapore is progressing rapidly from 1st World to Out of this World. Today India is in vogue and Indians are in great demand in Singapore. India used to mesmerize the Europeans with its mystics. Today is it mesmerizing Singapore in everything. Singapore is investing in very big ways in India and it will be no surprise if Singapore becomes the Number One foreign investor in India. And there is the CECA as testimony to the great admiration we have for the quality of India’s graduates and professionals.
Are these countries so out of touch with the real world? At the rate things are going, Singapore will be adopting Indian School syllabus to replace our syllabus. The Indians are producing many bright finance professionals to head big MNC banks and even Singapore banks. Their engineers and IT professionals are also in demand in the West and also in Singapore. This must have a lot to do with the way they are teaching their Maths.
Knowing that Singapore will always rush to whichever country that is producing good results, the way the Indians are teaching their Maths must soon be receiving serious attentions. Somehow our syllabi are not producing the kind of results that we want and many of our graduates are not good enough for anything except to drive taxis. The Sinkies are even discouraged to pursue tertiary education and to spend their energy in highly lucrative professions like hawkers and crane drivers. No university degrees needed.
As change and changing teaching methodology and syllabus are the new constants in Singapore, do not be alarmed if someone would suggest switching to Indian Maths. Some academic has already sang great praises on India’s low cost engineering. This may be introduced sooner in the university than Indian Maths to our schools.
Singapore is progressing rapidly from 1st World to Out of this World. Today India is in vogue and Indians are in great demand in Singapore. India used to mesmerize the Europeans with its mystics. Today is it mesmerizing Singapore in everything. Singapore is investing in very big ways in India and it will be no surprise if Singapore becomes the Number One foreign investor in India. And there is the CECA as testimony to the great admiration we have for the quality of India’s graduates and professionals.
Medishield Life – Promoting a new product
Today’s media is all about the highly expected new product, a medical
Ferrari of sort, that the govt is adamant to sell to the whole
population by compulsion. Like any new launch, we are hearing only the
good news from the snippets being aired. The people have nothing to
worry about. It will be very affordable, premiums will be no more than
the current Medisave contributions. This looks like another ‘gum gum ho’
package vis a vis what you have in your Medisave Account. The caveat,
premiums could go up at an opportune time. Heheheh. Think the formula
for home/car buying, low upfront payment and pay and pay after that with
interest going up at an opportune time.
There might be some freebies thrown out to attract the buyers and make the deals sweeter. There is a Pioneer Generation Package for those, probably 70 and above, and paid by the govt for life. This is no gimmicks, it will not be a one time payment or discount and then pay and pay like utilities bills and conservancy charges. Be very grateful for the kind mercy.
For those who are just below the 70 cut off point, be prepared to pay what the pioneering generation need not pay, for the rest of your life unless there is a new mercy, that premiums for the oldies will be frozen at a fixed rate or the govt will cough up more funding to subsidise the ‘very affordable’ premiums when one is 80, 90 or 100.
Assoc Professor Phua Kai Hong of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said, ‘Can we trust insurance to contain future healthcare cost increases without stronger govt regulation on the supply side?’
There are a few things that the people must be worried about, the profits of insurance companies, the unstoppable escalating medical cost that would lead to higher premiums to ensure profitability to of the insurers. The fact that insurers are still in the equation is something that must be of great concern. There is no reason why the govt cannot self insure this scheme if private insurers can do so. What is the catch that the govt will not want to take on this role? A compulsory scheme has removed all the other untidy and unnecessary issues of marketing and taking care of a big sales force. It is purely an administrative job.
The merits of self insuring are obvious. Cut down the cost of middlemen, cut down the profit motive, and any surpluses form the previous years can be ploughed back to lower the premiums of the insured. No need super talents to know such simple stuff.
The other big unknown is the runaway medical cost if not curbed by the strong arms of the govt. The cost in govt hospitals must be regulated to prevent any smart alec from raising fees to raise their bonuses or to subsidise their pet projects. There are also issues of over consumption like all schemes that are covered by insurance.
To take the logic of pioneering generation and the idea of ‘yin shui si yuan’ or when we drink from the well, we will remember the source, the oldies that needed medical care are not confined only to the pioneering generation. Every generation will get old and older and the state must play a big role in their welfare. It is better to set aside money to look after the oldies that have done their parts in contributing to the nation than to give the money away freely to foreigners and foreign organizations to show off that we are rich and can afford to splash hard cash everywhere.
The real stuff and maybe pain will come after the initial euphoria in a new launch. What will be added on when everyone is sucked into and stuck in an inescapable scheme? It is a flawless proposition, like the 6.9m population. Everyone shall welcome it with open arms and can sleep soundly after that. There is no downside but only goodness.
Kopi level - Green
There might be some freebies thrown out to attract the buyers and make the deals sweeter. There is a Pioneer Generation Package for those, probably 70 and above, and paid by the govt for life. This is no gimmicks, it will not be a one time payment or discount and then pay and pay like utilities bills and conservancy charges. Be very grateful for the kind mercy.
For those who are just below the 70 cut off point, be prepared to pay what the pioneering generation need not pay, for the rest of your life unless there is a new mercy, that premiums for the oldies will be frozen at a fixed rate or the govt will cough up more funding to subsidise the ‘very affordable’ premiums when one is 80, 90 or 100.
Assoc Professor Phua Kai Hong of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said, ‘Can we trust insurance to contain future healthcare cost increases without stronger govt regulation on the supply side?’
There are a few things that the people must be worried about, the profits of insurance companies, the unstoppable escalating medical cost that would lead to higher premiums to ensure profitability to of the insurers. The fact that insurers are still in the equation is something that must be of great concern. There is no reason why the govt cannot self insure this scheme if private insurers can do so. What is the catch that the govt will not want to take on this role? A compulsory scheme has removed all the other untidy and unnecessary issues of marketing and taking care of a big sales force. It is purely an administrative job.
The merits of self insuring are obvious. Cut down the cost of middlemen, cut down the profit motive, and any surpluses form the previous years can be ploughed back to lower the premiums of the insured. No need super talents to know such simple stuff.
The other big unknown is the runaway medical cost if not curbed by the strong arms of the govt. The cost in govt hospitals must be regulated to prevent any smart alec from raising fees to raise their bonuses or to subsidise their pet projects. There are also issues of over consumption like all schemes that are covered by insurance.
To take the logic of pioneering generation and the idea of ‘yin shui si yuan’ or when we drink from the well, we will remember the source, the oldies that needed medical care are not confined only to the pioneering generation. Every generation will get old and older and the state must play a big role in their welfare. It is better to set aside money to look after the oldies that have done their parts in contributing to the nation than to give the money away freely to foreigners and foreign organizations to show off that we are rich and can afford to splash hard cash everywhere.
The real stuff and maybe pain will come after the initial euphoria in a new launch. What will be added on when everyone is sucked into and stuck in an inescapable scheme? It is a flawless proposition, like the 6.9m population. Everyone shall welcome it with open arms and can sleep soundly after that. There is no downside but only goodness.
Kopi level - Green
2/04/2014
The anger against foreigners mounting.
You would not read these in the main media. Below are some comments in a
thread, ‘Singaporeans have every right to defend themselves’ in the
TRE. The number of foreigners here has gone past the threshold of
tolerance. And their behavior, discrimination and disgust against
Sinkies added to the anger of Sinkies that have fallen victims to them.
It is so ridiculous that a developed country, so called 1st World City
and citizens, well educated and rich, some even think Sinkies are smart,
would be despised and bullied by the very foreigners that they allowed
to work in their homeland. And nothing can be done while the daft
Sinkies are literally being edged out of their country, in jobs and in
homes and in public and private space. How can Sinkies be smart if they
can be so easily cheated by fakes from the 3rd World? Better still, no
one knows how to deal with this sickness.
The anger is building up everyday while on the surface you don’t really see it or read about it in the main media. You only read the good stuff of bringing in more foreigners in the main media. The Anton Casey case just blew the top and allowed the citizens to express their deep seated frustration that had been walled up for years. And would the govt still be asking why the Sinkies are so angry? Never mind, there is no need for the govt to know. The govt does not even have to do anything. The game will be over in 2 years time if the sentiment is real. You cannot keep pressing down the lid and think that it is not there. It will blow up at the right time if the pressure is not released, if the source of the anger is not removed.
So far there is no sign that this is happening despite the Sinkies kpkbing in social media. Many would like to pooh pooh it off as nothing but a few vocal minorities drumming for attention. How real is this will be shown in the next GE for sure. In the meantime, all is quiet in the western front. No one in the establishment would want to talk about it or face it squarely and do something substantive to defuse it.
In Thailand, the anti govt protesters are not respecting the vote of the majority. Would the govt respect the right of the majority here against the influx of foreigners into the country, to steal their jobs and to discriminate and despise the citizens? The daft Sinkies are rebelling to tell the govt that they don’t agree with its reasoning to bring in more and more foreigners. The govt is standing firm and not giving an inch in its design to flood the island with more foreigners.
So?
Here are a few of the snippets for a feel of the temperature.
Shut up:
February 3, 2014 at 7:45 am (Quote)
The anger against foreigners mounting.In the part when there are much fewer foreigners, you will never encounter a situation in which a foreigner would even dare to speak up against a singaporean.
Now when they have enough of their people around especially when they all choose to live in one area, it has embolden them.
You can go an blame these foreigners and you should but who created this in the first place? Who opened the flood gates and allow these foreigners in? Allow them in at such a great rate and embolden them?
I always say focus your energy at the primary source of the problem.
Its none other than PAP. We must rid PAP first and then these foreigners will get the message and we will see alot less of such incidents in the future. We must do this for our fellow singaporeans and future generations.
• Singaporeans must say NO:
February 2, 2014 at 2:31 pm (Quote)
Singaporeans can and must say NO. NO to PAP’s policies of discriminating against its own citizens. NO to foreigners bullying us, we must speak out for each other whenever and wherever a Singaporean is bullied. NO to more FTs coming in to dilute our Singaporean identity.
It is TIME FOR SINGAPOREANS TO SUPPORT SINGAPOREANS. Since the PAP government cannot and will not be a good government, we need to change the government.
• Pink Panty Loong - "The Great S'pore Curse - Wussy Doormat LEEderSHIT!":
February 2, 2014 at 3:09 pm (Quote)
These foreign trash twisted mindset and bad attitudes are totally encouraged and emboldened by our very own traitorous PAP government! The PAP government openly and blatantly pit the foreign trash against Singaporeans so that we will be coerced into accepting and integrating with them instead of the other way round! Where else can you find a government that embraced and empowered the foreigners to alienate their own citizens? Vote the PAP out to stop their treasonous acts and take back our Singapore! Singapore belongs to Singaporeans! Not the PAP nor their 3rd world foreign shits!
• bill man:
February 2, 2014 at 4:01 pm (Quote)
There are many cases of Singaporeans being discriminated/ bullied in their work environment that are not reported as well. I happened to know of a few. Please contribute if you know of others:
1. some European banks have deliberately redesigned job spec so that local managers will forsake being managers and continue to stay as RMs. This is exactly what the banks want…to bring in more expats to manage the locals. These new expats do not need local cultural knowledge, no contacts and all they need to do is push our locals for sales numbers. Mind you, they are well paid too.
2. some expats treasure their good life here so they will never want to make decision or take buss risk, just refer the locals to policy manuals is how they manage. This frustrates the locals and after a while,they become vocal about it. Head offices replace them and as recent as two months ago, i heard that one of them landed with job with other European bank. This is happening so often. These are the jobs that we locals can handle and yet our upward mobility is being blocked
3 certain banks with senior management from a certain country are slowly getting rid of locals so that their country men can take over. A case reported in the blob was brought to the authorities’ attn, ha, nothing was done. Just look at some of the dealing rooms.
4. some expats do not want to leave Singapore after they were terminated due to the 2008 fina crisis set up exe search firms. They hunt for and place other expats, their friends, with other banks, the HR depts there are also headed by expats. They colluded and excuses are given that they cannot find locals to fill the job.
5 Anton stays in Sentosa, majority of Singaporeans in HDB. Why? Locals are made to work to support these over paid and under work expats. from 5 pm onwards, you can see them are the pubs in MBFC and at nite at Clarke Quay with their local toys. At 10pm, you can see the poor locals getting out of MRT exhausted heading home in their HDB flat.
What is Singapore becoming? Why is the Govt willing to anger the locals and still protecting the FT population? We must make it a point to remember this FT policy makers’ names so that they go down in history of our country as those that made us and our future generations 2nd class citizens to the FTs. For those who just follow orders, consciously or unconsciously, to approve new citizenship or PR or Employment pass, hope that one day your conscience will hit you or your bad karma will. This can happen when your own children are being marginalized.
These are comments in another thread, Foreigners – treat them as ‘you want to be treated’
• blueview:
January 27, 2014 at 4:11 am (Quote)
Ng Eng Hen,
The next generation of Singaporeans are going to have “coolie” status based on what PAP has been preaching to Singaporeans. PAP are discouraging Singaporeans from pursuing education and encouraging us to take up mostly low level jobs. In a few years time, the FTs holding high level & high paying jobs will be lords, kings and queens. This is already happening and we have seen several incidents besides Anton’s.
I am in no way degrading the low level jobs. Since Singapore is such a small country, each & every type of job both low level and high level should be for true blue Singaporeans first. Foreigners should come last.
PAP obviously does not know what the word “BIRTHRIGHT” means. There will always be Singaporeans who want to be taxi drivers or cleaners or bus drivers or crane operators BUT why does PAP have to impose these jobs on us? Do we hear PAP encouraging us to take on wealth manager job at some swanky boutique wealth mgt company? Did PAP look for Singaporeans to be CEOs of DBS and Singapore Post? Are there NO & I mean not even a single qualified Singaporean to take on these positions?
• COE For Foreign Talents:
January 27, 2014 at 6:50 am (Quote)
There are too many foreigners here. Raffles Place and Marina Bay are full of them so much so that they now outnumber local Singaporeans working there. Yes obviously they took away the cushy highly paid office desk jobs in air-con comfort from Singaporean PMETs. Like all such congestion, we can control them well through financial levy. One of these is the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE). Should there be a COE system for employment passes/S-passes. It will be easier to implement since there are only two categories. And we can regulated the flow of FTs. These COE should be valid for 2 years, to generate turnover and will reap in no less than the current COE system for vehicles. So we will have money to build more hospitals, MRTs, buses, schools, foodcourts, shopping malls, roads, etc to cater to higher number. Who know perhaps we can provide social welfare after that as they told us they have no money for social welfare. Let do this. What do you think?
The anger is building up everyday while on the surface you don’t really see it or read about it in the main media. You only read the good stuff of bringing in more foreigners in the main media. The Anton Casey case just blew the top and allowed the citizens to express their deep seated frustration that had been walled up for years. And would the govt still be asking why the Sinkies are so angry? Never mind, there is no need for the govt to know. The govt does not even have to do anything. The game will be over in 2 years time if the sentiment is real. You cannot keep pressing down the lid and think that it is not there. It will blow up at the right time if the pressure is not released, if the source of the anger is not removed.
So far there is no sign that this is happening despite the Sinkies kpkbing in social media. Many would like to pooh pooh it off as nothing but a few vocal minorities drumming for attention. How real is this will be shown in the next GE for sure. In the meantime, all is quiet in the western front. No one in the establishment would want to talk about it or face it squarely and do something substantive to defuse it.
In Thailand, the anti govt protesters are not respecting the vote of the majority. Would the govt respect the right of the majority here against the influx of foreigners into the country, to steal their jobs and to discriminate and despise the citizens? The daft Sinkies are rebelling to tell the govt that they don’t agree with its reasoning to bring in more and more foreigners. The govt is standing firm and not giving an inch in its design to flood the island with more foreigners.
So?
Here are a few of the snippets for a feel of the temperature.
Shut up:
February 3, 2014 at 7:45 am (Quote)
The anger against foreigners mounting.In the part when there are much fewer foreigners, you will never encounter a situation in which a foreigner would even dare to speak up against a singaporean.
Now when they have enough of their people around especially when they all choose to live in one area, it has embolden them.
You can go an blame these foreigners and you should but who created this in the first place? Who opened the flood gates and allow these foreigners in? Allow them in at such a great rate and embolden them?
I always say focus your energy at the primary source of the problem.
Its none other than PAP. We must rid PAP first and then these foreigners will get the message and we will see alot less of such incidents in the future. We must do this for our fellow singaporeans and future generations.
• Singaporeans must say NO:
February 2, 2014 at 2:31 pm (Quote)
Singaporeans can and must say NO. NO to PAP’s policies of discriminating against its own citizens. NO to foreigners bullying us, we must speak out for each other whenever and wherever a Singaporean is bullied. NO to more FTs coming in to dilute our Singaporean identity.
It is TIME FOR SINGAPOREANS TO SUPPORT SINGAPOREANS. Since the PAP government cannot and will not be a good government, we need to change the government.
• Pink Panty Loong - "The Great S'pore Curse - Wussy Doormat LEEderSHIT!":
February 2, 2014 at 3:09 pm (Quote)
These foreign trash twisted mindset and bad attitudes are totally encouraged and emboldened by our very own traitorous PAP government! The PAP government openly and blatantly pit the foreign trash against Singaporeans so that we will be coerced into accepting and integrating with them instead of the other way round! Where else can you find a government that embraced and empowered the foreigners to alienate their own citizens? Vote the PAP out to stop their treasonous acts and take back our Singapore! Singapore belongs to Singaporeans! Not the PAP nor their 3rd world foreign shits!
• bill man:
February 2, 2014 at 4:01 pm (Quote)
There are many cases of Singaporeans being discriminated/ bullied in their work environment that are not reported as well. I happened to know of a few. Please contribute if you know of others:
1. some European banks have deliberately redesigned job spec so that local managers will forsake being managers and continue to stay as RMs. This is exactly what the banks want…to bring in more expats to manage the locals. These new expats do not need local cultural knowledge, no contacts and all they need to do is push our locals for sales numbers. Mind you, they are well paid too.
2. some expats treasure their good life here so they will never want to make decision or take buss risk, just refer the locals to policy manuals is how they manage. This frustrates the locals and after a while,they become vocal about it. Head offices replace them and as recent as two months ago, i heard that one of them landed with job with other European bank. This is happening so often. These are the jobs that we locals can handle and yet our upward mobility is being blocked
3 certain banks with senior management from a certain country are slowly getting rid of locals so that their country men can take over. A case reported in the blob was brought to the authorities’ attn, ha, nothing was done. Just look at some of the dealing rooms.
4. some expats do not want to leave Singapore after they were terminated due to the 2008 fina crisis set up exe search firms. They hunt for and place other expats, their friends, with other banks, the HR depts there are also headed by expats. They colluded and excuses are given that they cannot find locals to fill the job.
5 Anton stays in Sentosa, majority of Singaporeans in HDB. Why? Locals are made to work to support these over paid and under work expats. from 5 pm onwards, you can see them are the pubs in MBFC and at nite at Clarke Quay with their local toys. At 10pm, you can see the poor locals getting out of MRT exhausted heading home in their HDB flat.
What is Singapore becoming? Why is the Govt willing to anger the locals and still protecting the FT population? We must make it a point to remember this FT policy makers’ names so that they go down in history of our country as those that made us and our future generations 2nd class citizens to the FTs. For those who just follow orders, consciously or unconsciously, to approve new citizenship or PR or Employment pass, hope that one day your conscience will hit you or your bad karma will. This can happen when your own children are being marginalized.
These are comments in another thread, Foreigners – treat them as ‘you want to be treated’
• blueview:
January 27, 2014 at 4:11 am (Quote)
Ng Eng Hen,
The next generation of Singaporeans are going to have “coolie” status based on what PAP has been preaching to Singaporeans. PAP are discouraging Singaporeans from pursuing education and encouraging us to take up mostly low level jobs. In a few years time, the FTs holding high level & high paying jobs will be lords, kings and queens. This is already happening and we have seen several incidents besides Anton’s.
I am in no way degrading the low level jobs. Since Singapore is such a small country, each & every type of job both low level and high level should be for true blue Singaporeans first. Foreigners should come last.
PAP obviously does not know what the word “BIRTHRIGHT” means. There will always be Singaporeans who want to be taxi drivers or cleaners or bus drivers or crane operators BUT why does PAP have to impose these jobs on us? Do we hear PAP encouraging us to take on wealth manager job at some swanky boutique wealth mgt company? Did PAP look for Singaporeans to be CEOs of DBS and Singapore Post? Are there NO & I mean not even a single qualified Singaporean to take on these positions?
• COE For Foreign Talents:
January 27, 2014 at 6:50 am (Quote)
There are too many foreigners here. Raffles Place and Marina Bay are full of them so much so that they now outnumber local Singaporeans working there. Yes obviously they took away the cushy highly paid office desk jobs in air-con comfort from Singaporean PMETs. Like all such congestion, we can control them well through financial levy. One of these is the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE). Should there be a COE system for employment passes/S-passes. It will be easier to implement since there are only two categories. And we can regulated the flow of FTs. These COE should be valid for 2 years, to generate turnover and will reap in no less than the current COE system for vehicles. So we will have money to build more hospitals, MRTs, buses, schools, foodcourts, shopping malls, roads, etc to cater to higher number. Who know perhaps we can provide social welfare after that as they told us they have no money for social welfare. Let do this. What do you think?
MOE thinking frugal
Front page news in the ST, ‘Funding cuts of top independent schools in
Spore’. The MOE is cutting funds to the top 6 independent schools and on
top of that it is telling them to moderate fund raising activities for
campus upgrading. The schools have been told to switch classroom
ventilation from air conditioners to fans.
This is definitely a costing cutting measure. The question is why? Not enough funds or curbing on excessive expenditure on perks and luxuries? Many parents see this as a good move, to stop schools from going wild with money and what money can buy for comfort and the non essentials.
While the MOE is cutting such funding, presumably to curb waste, hopefully the savings would not be diverted to provide more scholarships and assistance to foreign students here. And hopefully there will also be substantive cuts on funding for foreign students and divert the money saved to assist the children of citizens. I said children of citizens, not children of locals. Must make this doubly clear.
So, what’s up MOE?
PS. I must acknowledge that we have the finest and most modern infrastructure for our schools. Not very sure about the software, which so far has proven to be quite shitty as we are producing duds that cannot compete with 3rd World talents who comfortably came here to replace our local talents from our education system in top jobs. What kind of shit is happening? Don’t ask me for answers.
Kopi level - Yellow
This is definitely a costing cutting measure. The question is why? Not enough funds or curbing on excessive expenditure on perks and luxuries? Many parents see this as a good move, to stop schools from going wild with money and what money can buy for comfort and the non essentials.
While the MOE is cutting such funding, presumably to curb waste, hopefully the savings would not be diverted to provide more scholarships and assistance to foreign students here. And hopefully there will also be substantive cuts on funding for foreign students and divert the money saved to assist the children of citizens. I said children of citizens, not children of locals. Must make this doubly clear.
So, what’s up MOE?
PS. I must acknowledge that we have the finest and most modern infrastructure for our schools. Not very sure about the software, which so far has proven to be quite shitty as we are producing duds that cannot compete with 3rd World talents who comfortably came here to replace our local talents from our education system in top jobs. What kind of shit is happening? Don’t ask me for answers.
Kopi level - Yellow
Is CPF taking advantage of senior citizens?
I am a senior citizen. By right I should be getting all my CPF savings
when I reached 55. But they changed the rules and created a Retirement
Account and forcibly transferred some of my savings into this Account. I
am angry but kept quiet since there is nothing I can do. They wrote the
laws and approved whatever laws they decided. Dunno which turkey
decided on this. So far no one dares to admit it. Was it discussed and
approve in Parliament?
Now they created another account called Medisave Minimum Sum Account. And they forcibly transferred some of my savings into this account. Very unhappy but cannot do anything. The people elected them so they think they can do anything they want.
Now I am getting angrier. If my savings are kept in the Retirement Account, I shall be getting 4% interest rate. I just found out that my savings in the Medisave Minimum Sum only get 2.5% interest. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is in my CPF statement.
Why am I being paid of 1.5% of interest lesser? The CPF suka suka changed the rules and suka suka fixed the interest rates. What, senior citizens all ‘boh tak cheh’ and you can do anything you want ya?
Tell me if this is fair? Letting you keep my savings for as long as you want is already damn ‘pek chek’. Now you created new accounts and pay me lesser interest. You want to bully senior citizens is it?
All my plans to be emperor in Batam or Lijiang got screwed because you refused to return my savings as contracted when I became a member more than 40 years ago. Do I have the right be angry?
Kopi level - Yellow
PS:
Now they created another account called Medisave Minimum Sum Account. And they forcibly transferred some of my savings into this account. Very unhappy but cannot do anything. The people elected them so they think they can do anything they want.
Now I am getting angrier. If my savings are kept in the Retirement Account, I shall be getting 4% interest rate. I just found out that my savings in the Medisave Minimum Sum only get 2.5% interest. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is in my CPF statement.
Why am I being paid of 1.5% of interest lesser? The CPF suka suka changed the rules and suka suka fixed the interest rates. What, senior citizens all ‘boh tak cheh’ and you can do anything you want ya?
Tell me if this is fair? Letting you keep my savings for as long as you want is already damn ‘pek chek’. Now you created new accounts and pay me lesser interest. You want to bully senior citizens is it?
All my plans to be emperor in Batam or Lijiang got screwed because you refused to return my savings as contracted when I became a member more than 40 years ago. Do I have the right be angry?
Kopi level - Yellow
PS:
2/03/2014
Baey Yam Keng - a startling revelation
Was it a Freudian slip or was it a well crafted revelation to serve a
specific agenda, this was what Baey said at the Young Guns forum on 29
Jan 14. ‘I am 100 per cent sure that not everyone is a PAP member. I’m
very sure there are people who voted for opposition. And you have to
take my word for that because I know more than you on CCC.
What a revelation! What was the intent and purpose for saying this? Was Baey trying to say he is very well informed, or was he bragging that he knows a lot of things? Or was it just a slip of the moment that he got carried away and said something he shouldn’t be saying?
Did Baey revealed anything? How was he to know that CCC members voted for the opposition? The vote is a secret right? I think I know the answer. The CCC members who voted for the opposition told him personally. Or maybe the CCC members told other CCC members and they told Baey. It must be like that. There is no other official means to know who voted for the opposition, unless there are things that I dunno as a layman. Layman does not know many things, they are simple minded people and will take everything at face value. Tiok boh?
What a revelation! What was the intent and purpose for saying this? Was Baey trying to say he is very well informed, or was he bragging that he knows a lot of things? Or was it just a slip of the moment that he got carried away and said something he shouldn’t be saying?
Did Baey revealed anything? How was he to know that CCC members voted for the opposition? The vote is a secret right? I think I know the answer. The CCC members who voted for the opposition told him personally. Or maybe the CCC members told other CCC members and they told Baey. It must be like that. There is no other official means to know who voted for the opposition, unless there are things that I dunno as a layman. Layman does not know many things, they are simple minded people and will take everything at face value. Tiok boh?
Japan is up to mischief again
After being defeated in WW2 and suffering from two Atomic bombs for its
aggressive invasion of its neighbours and trying to conquer and rule
South East Asia, Japan has not learnt its lessons on wars. It is
stirring up tension and trying to create misgivings among the countries
in the region with misinformation. In its latest attempt it falsely
reported that China was trying to introduce another ADIZ in the South
China Sea. By saying so, it is sowing discord between China and the
South East Asian neighbours.
What the Japanese are doing today is more dangerous than in the Second World War. Then it was more or less fighting the war alone after dividing the world and areas of control with the Nazis in Germany. It was ambitious enough to want to rule the whole of East Asia and South East Asia. Today it is joining forces with the Americans in its renewed attempt to be the top regional power of the region. And in this announcement the Americans are happily joining in to warn China of declaring an ADIZ in the region. The arrogant Americans take pleasure to warn every country they so choose as their right as the evil Empire. The Americans knew that it was a lie fabricated by the Japanese but jumped on it as an excuse to threaten China. An upmanship to tell the world it can still do so to any country and with the implied threat of a military attack.
China is not going to accept being bullied by the Americans any more. It could use the opportunity to defy the Americans and impose an ADIZ and see what the Americans are going to do about it. However, China has a bigger interest in forging a closer relation with the South East Asian countries and would not want to make such a move to give the Japanese and the Americans an advantage in crying wolf.
The East China Sea ADIZ is a necessary move as Japan and the Americans posed an immediate danger to China’s security and a threat of an air strike. Japan also has an ADIZ stretching to the Chinese coast. It was thus a tit for tat move directed against the Japanese. The South East Asian countries do not pose any threat to China except a few irritations from the Philippines and Vietnam. Both can easily be dealt with by a cane. And both would behave without the American gangsters provoking them from behind.
Japan is raring its hostile intent all over again and is reckless, without a care on the consequences of inciting a war with China. They have no regards to how destructive a war today would be, with Japan’s major cities flatten and gone up in smokes should it escalate into a nuclear war. This is how preposterous and crazy the Japanese are in the pursuit of their wild imperialist ambition, to be the Number One military power in the region.
Japan is willing to risk the total annihilation of its country and people. The right wing militant group is simply mad to think that war with China is an option, a tea party.
China rightfully replied sternly that it would “‘respond effectively to any provocation’ that risked disrupting order in East Asia.” China must make it very clear that it would go to war with Japan and the Americans if provoked in order to keep them away from adventurism. The two gangsters are very trigger happy and the use of military force to advance their national goals is in their blood.
The countries of the world, particularly in South East Asia, should not be a party to this madness. They only have to lose, to be dragged into a very destructive war, and nothing to gain from an open military conflict.
The wild military ambition of the mad Japanese must be stopped in its path now. America must be told off to stop agitating and inciting war in the region.
What the Japanese are doing today is more dangerous than in the Second World War. Then it was more or less fighting the war alone after dividing the world and areas of control with the Nazis in Germany. It was ambitious enough to want to rule the whole of East Asia and South East Asia. Today it is joining forces with the Americans in its renewed attempt to be the top regional power of the region. And in this announcement the Americans are happily joining in to warn China of declaring an ADIZ in the region. The arrogant Americans take pleasure to warn every country they so choose as their right as the evil Empire. The Americans knew that it was a lie fabricated by the Japanese but jumped on it as an excuse to threaten China. An upmanship to tell the world it can still do so to any country and with the implied threat of a military attack.
China is not going to accept being bullied by the Americans any more. It could use the opportunity to defy the Americans and impose an ADIZ and see what the Americans are going to do about it. However, China has a bigger interest in forging a closer relation with the South East Asian countries and would not want to make such a move to give the Japanese and the Americans an advantage in crying wolf.
The East China Sea ADIZ is a necessary move as Japan and the Americans posed an immediate danger to China’s security and a threat of an air strike. Japan also has an ADIZ stretching to the Chinese coast. It was thus a tit for tat move directed against the Japanese. The South East Asian countries do not pose any threat to China except a few irritations from the Philippines and Vietnam. Both can easily be dealt with by a cane. And both would behave without the American gangsters provoking them from behind.
Japan is raring its hostile intent all over again and is reckless, without a care on the consequences of inciting a war with China. They have no regards to how destructive a war today would be, with Japan’s major cities flatten and gone up in smokes should it escalate into a nuclear war. This is how preposterous and crazy the Japanese are in the pursuit of their wild imperialist ambition, to be the Number One military power in the region.
Japan is willing to risk the total annihilation of its country and people. The right wing militant group is simply mad to think that war with China is an option, a tea party.
China rightfully replied sternly that it would “‘respond effectively to any provocation’ that risked disrupting order in East Asia.” China must make it very clear that it would go to war with Japan and the Americans if provoked in order to keep them away from adventurism. The two gangsters are very trigger happy and the use of military force to advance their national goals is in their blood.
The countries of the world, particularly in South East Asia, should not be a party to this madness. They only have to lose, to be dragged into a very destructive war, and nothing to gain from an open military conflict.
The wild military ambition of the mad Japanese must be stopped in its path now. America must be told off to stop agitating and inciting war in the region.
Low cost engineering the way to go
We need more top academics to endorse the virtues of low cost engineering to restructure our universities and economic strategies for growth. Recently there was a professor from NTU making very positive views on the superiority of India in low cost engineering. And reading between the lines, NTU may be considering introducing low cost engineering courses to produce engineers that are experts in this area.
With Singapore unable or finding it challenging to compete in anything of substance and quality, low cost engineering may be the way to go. We could tap into India’s low cost labour and production methods in low cost engineering to produce goods that can be marketed with a price advantage. The Tata Nano is an excellent car for our market given the smallness in size. There is really no need for super cars with super price tags as they would run out of roads by the time they squeezed into third gear. A cheap Nano is exactly what we need for a small city and buzzing from the HDB flats to the market or neighbourhood shops.
A Nano cost only US$8K. With the high COE prices, a Nano could still be priced below $90K. Quality should not be an issue. The reports by BBC that ‘Five of India's most popular small cars have failed crash tests conducted by a UK-based car safety watchdog’ should be no cost for alarm. The cars tested included models made in India by Ford, Volkswagen and Hyundai. For the price you can’t be expecting German quality right?
The cars could only be made cheaply by some cost cutting like stripping some safety features. There is a price for everything, A good quality car cannot be cheap. One cannot be dreaming of all the safety features and quality parts when one is buying low cost cars manufactured using low cost engineering and labour. There is a market for such low cost products. Not everyone can afford a few hundred thousands for an European or Japanese or even Korean made cars.
It is all about practicality and being realistic in the consumers’ expectation. Low cost engineering, low cost labour and low cost products can find its low niche even in an expensive first world city. We only need to have quality products and services in politics and govts. The rest of the industries can offer a range, from the best to the lowest cost products.
The only consideration is whether Singaporeans could cope with the income if they are trained in low cost engineering, producing low cost products and drawing low cost salary. For the super talents, there are many, some are thumping their chests to open up the economy to foreigners as they feel confident enough to take on the best in the world, they can continue to compete in the higher end jobs. Many would not even mind competing with fakes as they know that they are really good and fakes or foreign talents are no match for them. They will survive under all circumstances even outperforming cheats and fakes.
For the normal average Sinkies, they should lower their expectations and embrace low cost engineering as a new opportunity. With CECA they can become expats in India and compete with the brilliant Indian low cost engineers for jobs there. India is a continent and there should be no problem finding a job there.
We have been encouraging our people to downgrade, from housing, jobs and homes. So it is normal to downgrade our pursuit of knowledge from high tech to low cost engineering, from producing high quality goods and services to low quality engineering stuff. Never mind if we move from 1st World to 3rd World. We are nearly there. A low cost manufacturing hub.
Kopi level - Yellow
HDB – what a pleasant gesture
It is a nice feeling to read something in the news that brings a smile
on your face. A HDB parking ticket stuck on the windscreen spelt trouble
or money blown away. Jocelyn Loh had such a ticket on Saturday on her
windscreen and her CNY mood crumbled immediately. How much would she
have to pay for visiting her newborn nephew during the CNY season? It
was a double happiness affair!
To her pleasant surprise there was a little note scribbled on the parking ticket with the words, ‘I give you chanes(chance) . Happy new year’. It was a little gesture that made the day for her. Hopefully other motorists who did the same act would also have the same little surprise in the spirit of the New Year. Hopefully the warden would not be slapped by HDB for the little discretion exercised to show a little graciousness in our talk money only society.
Compare this incident with the NEA and AHPETC incident, one can only shake the head and feel embarrassed by the unthoughtful act of making people miserable during a festive season. And we thought kindness is in the air with a Singapore Kindness Movement campaign being launched. What happened, they did not coordinate this matter and only the SKM people know and want kindness to be spread but not the rest of the establishment?
Nice gesture HDB. Still waiting for SMRT to show some kind gesture to the student being charged in court. Oops, they can’t do anything now. Only the authority can exercise some mercy.
Happy New Year everyone. And Happy New Year HDB, especially the warden. We need to have a soul and not unthinking and unfeeling robots that do not have any feelings or life in them. Can't imagine them talking about kindness.
To her pleasant surprise there was a little note scribbled on the parking ticket with the words, ‘I give you chanes(chance) . Happy new year’. It was a little gesture that made the day for her. Hopefully other motorists who did the same act would also have the same little surprise in the spirit of the New Year. Hopefully the warden would not be slapped by HDB for the little discretion exercised to show a little graciousness in our talk money only society.
Compare this incident with the NEA and AHPETC incident, one can only shake the head and feel embarrassed by the unthoughtful act of making people miserable during a festive season. And we thought kindness is in the air with a Singapore Kindness Movement campaign being launched. What happened, they did not coordinate this matter and only the SKM people know and want kindness to be spread but not the rest of the establishment?
Nice gesture HDB. Still waiting for SMRT to show some kind gesture to the student being charged in court. Oops, they can’t do anything now. Only the authority can exercise some mercy.
Happy New Year everyone. And Happy New Year HDB, especially the warden. We need to have a soul and not unthinking and unfeeling robots that do not have any feelings or life in them. Can't imagine them talking about kindness.
2/02/2014
WP, to slap or not to slap the driver
After Low Thia Kiang’s infamous analogy of slapping a driver
that had gone to sleep or taking the wrong turn, there were high expectations
that the slapping would continue and be more frequently done. This is especially
so when the driver is seen to have been driving wildly, speeding and breaking
all the traffic rules. With this background, one can appreciate why there is a
sense of anger and frustration when the slapping somehow has stopped. Some were even accusing the co driver for
falling asleep or been bought over by the driver. Many are now using this self
assigned role of the WP to judge their performance, and found them wanting.
Why has the slapping stopped suddenly? The curiosities
surrounding this turn of event are growing. Has the WP back tracked on what it
professed to do? It is definitely not a case of a driver driving well and
proper and no reason to slap. That makes thing more uncomfortable and the
critics more impatient. You could actually hear them screaming for more
slapping. The unlikely thing now is that the critics are turning around to slap
the co driver for sleeping on the job instead, for inaction.
What would you do if you were Low Thia Kiang or the WP? One
school of thought is that it is better to let the driver continues driving all
over the place and to the wrong place or over a cliff. Why bother to correct
him? Would it not be better to let the driver in his drunken stupor or state of
delirium to drive over the cliff?
There is some wisdom and practical values to this. When the
enemy is making all the mistakes, do not stop him. Instead, the enemy should be
encouraged to make more mistakes and believing that everything is fine. Now, is
this the new strategy of the WP? To make sense of what is happening, this is
the only logical reason. The WP cannot be seen as inept or losing their little
balls if they want to be the main opposition party to take on the PAP. Losing
credibility in the eyes of their supporters is a very serious slip and would
undermine their efforts to win more supporters and voters to their side.
The good thing about a good teacher or a good driver
constantly slapping a driver to take the right course of action is that it
would benefit the driver more than the co driver/teacher. For all the hard work
of slapping, everything turns out well and the co driver cannot reap any
rewards for his effort. Let it fall, let the wayward driver drives in whatever
way he wants, let him get into accidents and crash the car would be a better
result but with a bigger price to pay for the passengers.
To slap or not to slap the driver is a tough choice really.
If the stork did not bring in Hsien Loong and Hsien Yang
This is a hypothetical scenario and with no disrespect or
intent to smear anyone. It attempts to look at another aspect of our social
political development and how it became what it is today because of the stork. Three
areas will be greatly different in our system, the politics of the island, the
fast track promotions of super talents and the grotesque salaries of the elite.
In politics, more natural and talented individuals would
rise to the occasion, picked by the best and objective system based on an
individual’s talent. The criteria would be very stringent, just like how so
many of the second batch of ministers failed and were dropped. When the
decision maker was looking at performance on purely abilities, only the best
would survive the process. The presence of Hsien Loong/Yang had in many ways
clouded many judgements and decisions, just my subjective view, and let to many
poor and biased decisions. When the crown princes had been conferred, it was
just not possible or right for other crown princes to come into the picture
meritocratically or intentionally. The crown princes were there, period, and
the search for more and better men ends there.
One of the greatest flaws in our administrative system,
contributed by the stork, is the rapid promotion of young talents to top
positions before their pubic hair appeared. This was simply not how a mature
and durable system worked in the normal way. It may be necessary in the case of
the sudden birth of a new nation when not all the right people were in the
right places and many needed to be inserted quickly. In the case of rapid
promotions, not only that the talents are too young and lack the maturity and
wisdom that come with age and experience, their presence taxed heavily on the
system of natural attrition. Many good men and women just peaking in their
careers would have to make way for the immature kids to replace them. On one
hand the system lost some of the best talents that were just blooming. On the
other it inherited some young punks that were still wet behind their ears and
could mess things real bad for lacking in wisdom and experience.
To compound the problem, exceptionally and irrationally high
salaries were introduced to reward the yet to achieve anything young talents.
And the system continued to grow rapidly with each new cohort entering the
system. They kept feeding on a system, drawing huge sums of money that was
unsustainable in the long run. After 30 years, it is taking its toll, the drain
on the treasury is showing and drastic measures are needed to keep filling a
fast depleting purse due to excessive salaries and high expenditure on grandeur
and the unnecessary.
If the system could be reset, many older talents would have
more good years to hone their skills on the job. New and young talents would
have more time to learn the rope and be wiser in the process before taking on
bigger responsibilities. The financial burden in the system would not be so
strain as the salaries would be more down to earth, less financially demanding.
No paymaster under normal circumstances would be so eager to justify and pay
the young punks unspeakable salary in public office. Blame it on the stork for
this anomaly and perversion of the remuneration system. Today, I believe many
in high places are seeing the folly of these abnormalities but could not unwind
them without creating unbearable pains to those in the gravy train. But the
breaking down of an unsustainable system is only a matter of time as it is
grossly extended and overstretched in all areas.
To have young mavericks at the top of their professions is
often an accident of nature. It happened in history now and then. In normal
cases, many in their 30s and 40s are still not ripe to be in position of power
and authority. Simply too brash, have not seen enough of life. The painful
sights of some young parliamentarians and top civil servants struggling to make
meanings in what they were doing are testimonies that such abnormalities must
be rectified. The young and old have their right places at the right time.
Putting the cart before the horse often doesn’t work well.
To reset to the system is difficult and to be avoided, but
it will be reset with great pains to many in its own ways. It must reset to take away the overheating or
it will just burn out by itself. How things would have been so different if the
stork did not come with good tidings, or was it a bad one?
Blame it on the stork I suppose.
Blame it on the stork I suppose.
2/01/2014
Ang bao rates by Salary.sg
Below are the rates posted at Salary.sg. It is part serious and part light hearted. Hope people don’t take this too seriously like ang bao rates for wedding dinner. The ang bao tradition has several thousand years of cultural history and must not be commercialised to a point of being killed.
The ang bao for wedding is reaching a level that people felt pissed or unduly burdened by the invitation that some may even curse for being invited. It is not a small sum and if the inflation of ang bao and restaurant prices is not curbed, it would kill the wedding dinner tradition as well, or it will revert to a new and greatly downsized version, among very close friends or relatives only.
The giving of ang bao is also meant to be a gesture or token of goodwill and not to make undue demands on the givers. It is best to cap the amount to a minimum and kept there to prolong this fine tradition and not turning it into a fine for the givers. For those who are able to give, they should give it in other forms and standardise the amount for ang bao in the spirit of giving.
May the rich continues to be generous and the not so rich be blessed with the wisdom to keep this tradition going without feeling the pain in the pocket.
High Income - Combined income of $150k and above annually
Parents $88 – $200
In Laws $88 – $200
Own Children $20 – $80
Nephews and Nieces $20 – $50
Children of Friends and Colleagues $20 – $50
Grandchildren $20 – $50
Middle Income - Combined income of $30k – $150k annually
Parents $48 – $100
In Laws $48 – $100
Own Children $8 – $28
Nephews and Nieces $5 – $18
Children of Friends and Colleagues $8 – $28
Grandchildren $5 – $10
Low Income - Combined income of $30k and below annually
Parents $8 – $20
In Laws $8 – $20
Own Children $2 – $5
Nephews and Nieces $2 – $5
Children of Friends and Colleagues $2 – $5
Grandchildren $2 – $5
Chinese New Year – A civilisation in celebration
1840 marked the beginning of the decline of a civilisation.
Dynastic China
was defeated by a token mobile naval force that travelled all the way from Europe.
China was made
to pay compensation for a war to repulse the illegal trade of opium in China.
Can you believe it? A nation forcibly selling drugs to an ancient empire,
defeated the empire by a small fleet of naval ships and rewarded with riches
and concessions, including the island
of Hongkong. That defeat opened the
floodgate and let to the occupation of China
by western powers, including Japan.
China was
broken up, cut into pieces to be shared by the foreigners. The Qing Dynasty,
already lagging in industry and technology and an empty treasury, was made
bankrupt in all fronts of the economy. Life for the Chinese people descended
into the abyss. China
was a country no longer a country, with foreigners calling the shot.
The next 100 years saw the dispersal of a large number of Chinese
risking lives or being sold into slavery to eke a living abroad. Many travelled
with only a singlet and a pair of cotton pants on them, without shoes, to find
their rainbows. This early phase of the Chinese diaspora was mainly from the
poorer and uneducated segment of the Chinese population, which was likely to be
the whole population. They were poor and hapless and subjected to oppression
and suppression by their countries of adoption. They were treated as outcasts,
cheated, bullied, exploited, beaten, imprisoned or murdered like animals, no
better than the slaves of Africa. There was no China
to speak out for them or to defend their rights as citizens of a country.
While the diaspora continued to expand across the world, the
motherland was in ruins and rightfully branded as the Sick Man of Asia by the
Japanese. The latter despised the peasant Chinese and harboured the desire to
conquer and colonise the Chinese mainland. With a weak and practically non
existence China,
the diaspora were easy prey and convenient victims everywhere they resided.
They were regularly robbed, raped and murdered by the residents of the land.
Plenty of crude and racist jokes were created at their expense.
With the passage of time, some became more successful but
many could not bear to call themselves Chinese and were apologetic for being
Chinese. It was so embarrassing to be Chinese. In some countries the Chinese
language and culture were suppressed and made illegal. In the West, there were
laws to institutionalise and legalise discrimination against the Chinese
diaspora from better economic opportunities. They were simply despised and
treated as sub humans.
More than 150 years have passed. 2014, the Chinese and the
Chinese diaspora have risen as a civilisation of equals among the best western
civilisations. Economically many are quite affluent in all corners of the
world. The Greater China of PRC, Taiwan,
Hongkong and Macau are as rich as the western nations.
There are more rich people and millionaires and billionaires in communist China
than anywhere else. The unthinkable truth that communist can be rich is a startling
irony. The communist dollar, the renminbi, is more sought after and desired
than the greenbacks. Can you believe that?
Greater China
is giving the advanced western nations a run for their money in engineering,
science and technology and in monetary wealth. Today, Chinese New Year is
celebrated not only in Greater China and Southeast Asia
but also in Europe and America.
The colour of red and yellow lighted up the Eye in London
and the Empire State
Building in New
York, America
and in many western countries. This is totally unheard of and inconceiveable
even 10 years ago.
The Chinese New Year Celebration of 2014 marks the revival
of an ancient civilisation from the fringe of irrelevance. No longer will the
Chinese civilisation be ridiculed by anyone, including 3rd World
impoverished countries. China
and the Chinese diaspora is everywhere engaging in productive economic
activities. For the Chinese civilisation to be respectable, both China
and the Chinese diaspora must be doing well in all fields of endeavour, from
economics, finance, to science and technology and the arts. The recognition of
the Chinese diaspora would not attain the level it is today without the rise of
a strong and respectable modern China. They would risk having their wealth and lives taken away by the natives of the land for no reason whatsoever, but mainly for having work too hard to acquire their wealth and success.
The Chinese in Greater China and the Chinese diaspora no
longer need to apologise to the world for being Chinese. They have been
accepted, at times reluctantly, by the people of the world as an equal among
all the great civilisations. And they are living very well.
This is nothing about Chinese chauvinism or about China,
but about a people that was dumped into the sewers of world civilisation, to be
damned and forgotten, but picked themselves out from the slime to live again,
minus the stench of poverty and ignorance. An old civilisation has renewed its
lifespan to march into the future with greater confidence and certainty.
More important, China
has proven that there is an alternative developmental model for developing
states to emulate. Many populous countries could see themselves like an earlier
China and could
adopt/adapt the same formula for economic growth. China
has also shown that a communist utopia is not really unachieveable but with
some adaptation and the flexibility to accept capitalist principles in economic
policies, a communist state can be rich and successful too.
30 years ago, our shops in Orchard
Road and the night life districts were hoping for
an European or American ship, or a Japanese one to land for more tourist
dollars. Today they are hoping for more communists from China
to land. These nouveau riche Chinese would not go to Chinatown to look at the
slum or the night life of Bugis Street and cheap food, but would head to the most
posh and upmarket joints in Orchard Road to grab the branded stuff available,
the Cartiers, LVs, Pradas, and whatever that is expensive to the locals.
So too are the shops in London, Paris and New York and other
big European cities, laying out the red carpets and eagerly waiting for the
rich communist Chinese to spend their renminbi furiously like no tomorrow.
The Chinese New Year is quite different today and going
forward. What changes would the Chinese civilisation bring about after being so
successful in reverse engineering and copying whatever that they can copy from
the developed West? They have closed the engineering and scientific gap with
the Americans and are set to take off on their own to find their new frontiers
in science and technology.
The little inscrutable Chinaman is a thing of the past.
Kopi level - Yellow
Kopi level - Yellow
1/31/2014
The Spirit of Citizenship
Below are 4 key points on citizenship
mentioned by Obama in his State of the Union Address to the Americans.
‘After all, that’s the spirit that has always moved this nation forward. It’s the spirit of citizenship – the recognition that through hard work and responsibility, we can pursue our individual dreams, but still come together as one American family to make sure the next generation can pursue its dreams as well.
Citizenship means standing up for everyone’s right to vote…. It should be the power of our vote, not the size of our bank account,that drives our democracy.
Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day. (Gun is not too relevant in the Sinkie context, but more about public security and safety when rioting is becoming a new reality.)
Citizenship demands a sense of common cause; participation in the hard work of self-government; an obligation to serve to our communities. And I know this chamber agrees that few Americans give more to their country than our diplomats and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.’
We do talk about citizenship but our citizenship is being violated by the large numbers of foreigners here. We even corrupted the value of our citizenship with PRs lumped together as locals as if they are citizens. We corrupted out thinking, the thinking of the young on what citizenship means and why PRs and foreigners are not one of us. We have 2 million foreigners gainfully employed here in top jobs that rightfully should go to the locals. Unfortunately our system has failed the citizens badly that many top jobs, I mean govt and govt linked companies’ jobs, happily given to foreigners with the bull excuse that no citizen is deemed fit to take those jobs.
We must thank those exceptionally talented Sinkies to take on 5 or 10 or 20 jobs or else they will all go to foreigners too as no Sinkies are good enough to wear those hats. Sinkies must be very grateful to these super talented individuals. May they be blessed by the horse.
What is wrong with our citizenship when so many foreigners are having a party here while Sinkies are under employed or unemployed? Is our citizenship means giving way to foreigners, foreigners come first because they are good, because they have great CVs and certificates that no one bothers to check for their authenticity?
What is wrong with our citizenship and the aspirations of the citizens to pursue their dreams? Not good enough so conveniently raise the foreigners to high pedestals to fulfil their dreams.
Where is the wisdom of statesmanship?
恭喜发财 Gong Xi Fa Cai
May the Year of the Horse bless the nation with a wise leader and bring prosperity to all the citizens.
Happy Lunar New Year to all of you.
May all our leaders be blessed with the wisdom of the horse to bring good blessings to the citizens.
Happy Lunar New Year to all of you.
May all our leaders be blessed with the wisdom of the horse to bring good blessings to the citizens.
1/30/2014
Lunar New Year in Chinatown - A pictorial essay
Thailand, the strange nature of things happening
The Yingluck govt is pushing ahead with the general election on 2 Feb.
The street protest continues while a state of emergency order has been
issued in Bangkok. And ‘Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has threatened
to "close every route" to polling stations again for Sunday's election,
raising fears of further violence’. MSN.
Shouldn’t Suthep be arrested for disruption the general election? It seems that he is untouchable, like he is carrying with him an Imperial Sword, a representative of the King. And he and his Bangkok protesters are accusing the whole Yingluck govt of corruption and now incompetence. Can they be sure that a new govt will not be corrupt? And all the media reporting on the general election is saying that the result is an assured landslide victory for the Yingluck govt. Holycow, a corrupt govt assured of winning a general election with public protest on the road and with an army and a judicial that would not allow any mischief to happen during the election! (This is a bit like Sin when there are so much anger and criticism against the govt but comes a GE the govt will still be elected.)
What a complex series of contradictions. What is very clear is that there is order and strategy above the confusion. The master strategists are working real hard on both sides. On the Suthep side, he had a loud voice in Bangkok with the Bangkok media and elite on his side and a kind of certainty that he could ruin the general election and incapacitate the govt with impunity. He has the authority to do so.
On the side of the Yingluck govt, they are treating the Bangkok protesters as shadows playing their own game but inconsequential. The protesters and Suthep can continue with what they are doing, the govt will simply ignore them and go ahead to do what it deems fit.
A new govt will be announced after the general election, if it is not disrupted, with Yingluck still the PM and her cabinet still intact and the street protest still in Bangkok. Should a violent clash erupt, the law enforcing officers of both the police and army would have to step in. Then what, a military state?
Shouldn’t Suthep be arrested for disruption the general election? It seems that he is untouchable, like he is carrying with him an Imperial Sword, a representative of the King. And he and his Bangkok protesters are accusing the whole Yingluck govt of corruption and now incompetence. Can they be sure that a new govt will not be corrupt? And all the media reporting on the general election is saying that the result is an assured landslide victory for the Yingluck govt. Holycow, a corrupt govt assured of winning a general election with public protest on the road and with an army and a judicial that would not allow any mischief to happen during the election! (This is a bit like Sin when there are so much anger and criticism against the govt but comes a GE the govt will still be elected.)
What a complex series of contradictions. What is very clear is that there is order and strategy above the confusion. The master strategists are working real hard on both sides. On the Suthep side, he had a loud voice in Bangkok with the Bangkok media and elite on his side and a kind of certainty that he could ruin the general election and incapacitate the govt with impunity. He has the authority to do so.
On the side of the Yingluck govt, they are treating the Bangkok protesters as shadows playing their own game but inconsequential. The protesters and Suthep can continue with what they are doing, the govt will simply ignore them and go ahead to do what it deems fit.
A new govt will be announced after the general election, if it is not disrupted, with Yingluck still the PM and her cabinet still intact and the street protest still in Bangkok. Should a violent clash erupt, the law enforcing officers of both the police and army would have to step in. Then what, a military state?
Hsien Loong needs to speak Singlish
An editorial article in TRE titled ‘PM: You’ll be sorry too if I send
all FTs home’, a follow up to Hsien Loong’s talk to NTU students, has
drawn more than 100 comments and growing. The main point it seems is
that the netizens just could not understand or agree with what Hsien
Loong said. Not sure if the message gets across to the students,
obviously the netizens got a message that they don’t agree with and are
shooting back point by point at what Hsien Loong said.
Looks like Hsien Loong needs to speak Singlish and think like a Sinkie if he wants to communicate to Sinkies and know what are the concerns and interests of Sinkies and why Sinkies are so unhappy with his policies. If he doesn’t, then he will be like Josephine Teo, still scratching her head and wondering why the Sinkies are so angry with the govt.
Below are just three comments that I copied from the same thread in TRE to give an idea of how the netizens are reacting to Hsien Loong. Of course he can ignore the comments as noises from the lunatic fringe and go on with his policies as if nothing has been said.
• Errr!:
January 29, 2014 at 9:35 pm (Quote)
We never ask you to send all FTs home. We only want you to keep the genuinely good ones and keep the proportion low so that it would not harm our livelihood unfavourably. I really don’t understand this PM. He seems to not getting the right information from the ground. Singapore has always had its fair share our foreigners in the past and the proportion were not as big as this, and we never had any problems with foreigners until now due to the large proportions of them living and earning their living here.
• my $8 heart bypass:
January 29, 2014 at 9:56 pm (Quote)
What a fcuking load of bullshit, FTs create jobs for locals.
Lee Hsien Loong, just go and take a look at DBS and see how many Ah Nehs working there and tell me why these jobs cannot be done by locals.
Every morning you see bus loads coming in to unload these Trash at MBFC from DBS Changi office.
Go and walk around Changi airport, and see whether you are in Manila or Sinkieland.
Why do you need Pinoys to be Guest Relations officers, they speak Tagalog accented English, don’t you know ???
Singing the same fcuking tune again and again, FTs create jobs for locals.
Yes, the economy may have grown, but you and your PIGS are creating jobs for the Trash have flooded in due to your Open Legs policy.
You can bloody well wayang and bullshit all these students who are still wet behind the ears, but don’t try and bull us Sr. citizens.
And the greatest crime is spending $400M of tax payer’s money to fund these foreign students with free education at the expense of our own children.
• Reflections:
January 29, 2014 at 9:56 pm (Quote)
What he says:
“You put the wrong CEO there, the bank goes bust, thousands lose their jobs.”
What I read:
“You put the wrong PM there, the country goes bust, everyone loses their jobs.”
Looks like Hsien Loong needs to speak Singlish and think like a Sinkie if he wants to communicate to Sinkies and know what are the concerns and interests of Sinkies and why Sinkies are so unhappy with his policies. If he doesn’t, then he will be like Josephine Teo, still scratching her head and wondering why the Sinkies are so angry with the govt.
Below are just three comments that I copied from the same thread in TRE to give an idea of how the netizens are reacting to Hsien Loong. Of course he can ignore the comments as noises from the lunatic fringe and go on with his policies as if nothing has been said.
• Errr!:
January 29, 2014 at 9:35 pm (Quote)
We never ask you to send all FTs home. We only want you to keep the genuinely good ones and keep the proportion low so that it would not harm our livelihood unfavourably. I really don’t understand this PM. He seems to not getting the right information from the ground. Singapore has always had its fair share our foreigners in the past and the proportion were not as big as this, and we never had any problems with foreigners until now due to the large proportions of them living and earning their living here.
• my $8 heart bypass:
January 29, 2014 at 9:56 pm (Quote)
What a fcuking load of bullshit, FTs create jobs for locals.
Lee Hsien Loong, just go and take a look at DBS and see how many Ah Nehs working there and tell me why these jobs cannot be done by locals.
Every morning you see bus loads coming in to unload these Trash at MBFC from DBS Changi office.
Go and walk around Changi airport, and see whether you are in Manila or Sinkieland.
Why do you need Pinoys to be Guest Relations officers, they speak Tagalog accented English, don’t you know ???
Singing the same fcuking tune again and again, FTs create jobs for locals.
Yes, the economy may have grown, but you and your PIGS are creating jobs for the Trash have flooded in due to your Open Legs policy.
You can bloody well wayang and bullshit all these students who are still wet behind the ears, but don’t try and bull us Sr. citizens.
And the greatest crime is spending $400M of tax payer’s money to fund these foreign students with free education at the expense of our own children.
• Reflections:
January 29, 2014 at 9:56 pm (Quote)
What he says:
“You put the wrong CEO there, the bank goes bust, thousands lose their jobs.”
What I read:
“You put the wrong PM there, the country goes bust, everyone loses their jobs.”
The govt owes Sinkies a level playing field
We have been flooded with 2 million foreigners working here. We know of
how these foreigners and foreign companies screwed Sinkies by
discriminatory hiring practices, hiring foreigners and their own kinds.
Some blatantly refused to hire Sinkies and got away with it.
We also know that many of these foreigners came with fake qualifications and CVs. The number in very conservative estimate can be easily 20% and could go to 50% or more.
The consequences of the above, many Sinkies lost their jobs and opportunities to higher appointments to these foreigners not because they were not good, but simply cheated or discriminated. The govt owes the Sinkies, jobless, underemployed and those employed a level playing field in employment and advancement opportunities, for the jobless to be employed, for the underemployed to be gainfully employed, for those employed to be appropriately employed according to their worth.
The govt also owes all Sinkies to ensure that the professionals in all fields that Sinkies paid for their services are genuinely qualified and not quacks. The consequences of having unqualified or fake professionals in these responsible jobs are not only about jobs but about safety and lives.
The off the cuff number is simply too large for comfort. It is not only disgraceful but criminal to let these fraudulent practices to continue unabated with the foreigners laughing at our idiocy, from the top to the bottom.
There must be immediate actions taken to rid the country of these pests. The people demand a level playing field and fair opportunities, not a fake one. It is inexcusable even for a single day of delays. It does not take 56 man years to clear up the shit and get rid of the worms and maggots in the system.
Kopi level - Green
We also know that many of these foreigners came with fake qualifications and CVs. The number in very conservative estimate can be easily 20% and could go to 50% or more.
The consequences of the above, many Sinkies lost their jobs and opportunities to higher appointments to these foreigners not because they were not good, but simply cheated or discriminated. The govt owes the Sinkies, jobless, underemployed and those employed a level playing field in employment and advancement opportunities, for the jobless to be employed, for the underemployed to be gainfully employed, for those employed to be appropriately employed according to their worth.
The govt also owes all Sinkies to ensure that the professionals in all fields that Sinkies paid for their services are genuinely qualified and not quacks. The consequences of having unqualified or fake professionals in these responsible jobs are not only about jobs but about safety and lives.
The off the cuff number is simply too large for comfort. It is not only disgraceful but criminal to let these fraudulent practices to continue unabated with the foreigners laughing at our idiocy, from the top to the bottom.
There must be immediate actions taken to rid the country of these pests. The people demand a level playing field and fair opportunities, not a fake one. It is inexcusable even for a single day of delays. It does not take 56 man years to clear up the shit and get rid of the worms and maggots in the system.
Kopi level - Green
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When I saw the two amounts of interests side by side, the numbers obviously did not tally.
After going through the whole year's statement, I found another payment in July. The interest paid for Medisave is 4% while Retirement is 4 + 1%.
Why would they be computing interest payments differently, I dunno. My concern has been cleared and the payment is correct.