channelnewsasia forum. totally lack of humour

i was so amused by ntuc's call to employers to be innovative and to design more jobs that will pay more to the workers that i placed a post on the subject in the channelnewsasia forum. in my post i suggested to employers to create more jobs with titles like president, senior vice presidents and vice presidents for workers and of course with good pay. and the workers need not do much except to smile, shake hands and take pictures with visitors. as expected, after locking up my post pending approval, it was released with the above censored. don't they have a little sense of humour? maybe the censorship was done by a machine. and it is so stifling. imagine in a public forum you have to wait for hours before your posting is vetted and cleared for publishing. it is the worst example that singapore needs. it tells the world exactly what press censorship and freedom of expression is all about in the republic.

the infamous crooked bridge: the mahathir bridge

even before it is built, this crooked bridge is already famous beyond its shores. it is the real icon that malaysia needs to make it world famous. not the world largest ketupat or the largest malaysian flag or the biggest kettle. not even the twin towers could have gained such fame in so short a time. the iconic bridge symbolises everything that is mahathir. it is mahathir. it represents the thoughts, attitudes and aspirations of a third world leader, obsessed with trying to build a name for himself, to be remembered in perpetuity, at all cost. the bridge is unique, unorthodox, a bit distorted, and most important, a statement of a 'can do' attitude against all criticism. nothing can stop mahathir once he decided on something, even accusing his deputy of sodomy. but that is childplay compares to what this bridge is all about. power, arrogance, greed, defiance, unreasonableness, pride, foolhardy, desperation, cronyism, anger and antagonism. the malaysians do not need to build a statue to honour mahathir. the bridge is all about mahathir and his legacy of unfulfilled dreams and disappointments, and about his mega projects leading the nation to nowhere. everything that mahathir stood for, his triumphs and regrets and his unfinished works, are all in the bridge.

the remaking of singapore, the city of pleasure

base on my crystal ball, singapore will have a very bright and exciting future. it will be a very vibrant city to be in. all the best in the world will be here, from facilities, ideas and people, yes, all the beautiful and trendsetters of the world will set up homes in singapore. it will be a city bustling with life, just for play and play and merry making. living in singapore is living for pleasures. it will have a population of young and energetic people, well off, and able to perfect their physical bodies to the best money can buy. and the streets will be stuffed with all the luxuries for the rich and famous. all the old people will not be seen. they will either be packed off to some islands for the aged or be given a dose of drug. only a handful of wise old men will survive to rule the island. but these wise old men will look like in their thirties, with the help of organ transplant and stem cell technology. the curse of ageing will be non existence in the island. the general population will be deliberately kept young and healthy to service the beautiful people of the world. it will be a paradise on earth. the city of pleasure.

as france burns...

as france is burning, the rest of europe is simmering and could ignite as violence spreads. those european states with a substantial minorities are getting edgy and counting the minutes as to when violence will hit their streets. they have all failed in their assimilation policies of the migrants. after all these years, the migrants are still migrants, living as different communities in their midst. the most successful country to practise assimilation policy is the usa. they not only successfully assimilated their minorities, they actually assimilated the majority natives of north america, the red indians. today, in the streets of america, hardly any red indians are seen or recognisable. those that stood out or are recognisable as red indians are either dead or in the reservations. would europe learn from the americans?

foreign talent policy. govt said it is a right policy

the govt is still sticking to its gun that the foreign talent policy is a right policy. wong kan seng said again that issuing of prs and citizenship to foreigners will continue to boost the declining birth rate. on the other hand many singaporeans think that the policy is wrong. it hurts their pockets in terms of employment. the govt has come out with a small shift in this policy by changing a little on job opportunities for the foreign workers. to this, many singaporeans are not interested. they are more concern with decent and better paying jobs given to foreign talents instead of low level jobs given to foreign workers. who is right? the coming general election will tell. if the people are really hurt by this policy, the govt is going to pay dearly at the ballot box. if the govt is right, then they will continue to be in power and continue with their policy on foreign talents. the people now has a chance to protest or confirm what they want or what the govt wants.

young punks versus old hags

singapore is now a land of the young punks. all the old hags have been banished to wash toilets, sweep the roads and wait at tables. old hags in singapore's definition refer to those who are 45 and above. in any organisation one steps into, it is noticeable that the staff are of the sweet and bubbly type, all below 40. any capable singaporeans shall be able reach the position of a ceo/gm/president before they hit 40. this is the structural imbalance in the employment market that is present singapore. there is no room for the old hags, except for the old old hags, which there are a very few that grabbed very tightly to a few plum positions that they will not let go. ignoring this very small group in their special bastion of privilege positions, the rest of the old hags are left high and dry, to fend for themselves. if they are lucky, they got to serve young punks at fast food restaurants or kopitiams. if not, they became mobile art pieces that lined hdb void decks or walkways along chinatowns. singapore will be a much more vibrant and interesting city if a drug can be found to put all these old hags to sleep. it will then be the most beautiful city state, with beautiful greenery, flowers and also young and beautiful people. welcome to paradise on earth.

stonefish lurking in safe singapore waters

this is an experience which i would like to share with all picnickers to our lovely little islands. do not be deceived by the apparently safe and clean waters around us. hiding in the crevices of our rock embankments that were erected during land reclamations of the islands is the highly poisonous stonefish. i have treaded and trampled along our beaches at changi and labrador, and the islands barefooted for all my adult years. never feel safer. never been hurt by anything dangerous. it happened one morning at pulau hantu during a snorkelling trip. just as i was lifting myself off the embankment into the water, i felt a stink on my big toe. i turned around immediately and saw this ugly looking stonefish sitting among the rocks, staring right at me. i quickly scrambled out of the water and called for help. my friends could not do anything as our boatman had left and would only return in the afternoon. and there was not a single boat on the island. we waved frantically at passing boats only to be greeted by friendly waves. no one would know why we were waving. fortunately a dinghy was found and i was bundled into it, hit towards a yacht nearby, transferred onto a speedboat and sped off to a nearby shell oil refining facility. this is an information worth taking note of. the shell medical unit has just the right antidote for stonefish. they have treated many such cases. when i reached there i thought i would have lost my toe. the tourniquet was too tight and my toe turned black. in the confusion and fear, everyone, including myself, forgot to release the tourniquet after a while. everything happened so fast and there was no time to know those kind souls, the dinghy owners, the yacht owners and the medical doctor at shell, except thanking them profusely. i nursed a swollen foot and leg, my foot was like a papaya, for a week. thank god i did not lose my leg or my toe, or my life. what would happen if no boat came to my rescue. our islands were too safe to think of all contingencies. it was a time when there were no handphones. i greatly appreciate those guys for their help. and again, a warning, wear your shoes in our waters. and if need help, shell refinery is the best.