execution of a drug trafficker

no one will have said with glee on the execution of a man, no matter what crime was committed. the execution of the vietnamese australian drug trafficker is no exception. the act, the law, the judgement and the coming execution are all impartial, transparent and well known. they are there exactly to serve such a purpose. otherwise there is no point having them. the mother's anguish, the australians are angry, the appeal lawyers are even more angry, and the australian prime minister is very disappointed. and hsien loong has to apologise for a diplomatic hitch. all because of a drug trafficker. will our relations with australia suffered because of a criminal? why is a crime taking centrestage in state to state relations? we are not disputing over our claim for christmas island nor are we disagreeing over national issues. and it even gives the impression that the australian is trying to bully us into accepting their positions because it is politically correct in their domestic politics to do so. whether it is morally right in this case is subjective really, but never wrong to plead for the life of a dying man.

sim wong hoo's miraculous achievement

sim wong hoo may seem to be losing to apple in the battle for mp3 players. but he is clinging in there, fighting for every inch of the mp3 pie. and his target is only apple. what happens to sony, panasonic, toshiba, jvc and other notable japanese world class players? the fact that all the japanese makers did not feature in the game plan of sim wong hoo tells an amazing story. hey, the singapore brand is now a head above all the japanese brands. the japanese brands are inconsequential in this battle. whether it is real or perceived, the fact still stands, that it is a battle between two giants, an american and a singaporean brand. move aside sony, panasonic, toshiba etc etc. it is creative versus apple. anybody ever thought that a singapore brand can elbow out the established japanese giants. the thought of it sounds crazy. but it is happening.

is japan a modern day colony of usa?

after the americans were forced to vacate clark air base and subic naval base by the filipinos, they held on tenaciously to the last two military bases in east asia, in korea and japan. the realignment of us-japan military alliance and the greater freedom for american troops to be stationed in japan, have given the impression that japan is becoming a forward base of the american empire. the japanese people have been reported to be angry with the new move. the proud and nationalistic japanese may find it hard to swallow, that a once empire maker, is now relegated to the status of a semi colony of the usa. and the american nuclear fleet will now be a common feature in the sea of japan and american soldiers' presence in ginza and shinjuku will also become a common sight. will there be more angry japanese protest to this alliance when japan allows itself to become an extension of another nation's military reach into east asia? long gone were the days when japan was fighting to be an empire. it is now a part of another empire.

recognising ns men

the life and time of ns men are in a way acquired by the state like the acquisition of land. during those ns days, including reservist training, the time and life of the ns men belonged to the state. and in turn they were given a miserable stipends. when the nation was less well off, everyone understood and would not dare to put too much demand on the state. today the state is rich, very rich. and rightly the state too thinks that it should show some real recognition and reward those who have given their time and life to the nation. for should there be a crisis, these young men will be the one to defend, fight and die for the nation. the current procedure of sending a letter to a nsman informing him of his completion of all his ns liabilities need to be done better to recognise the contributions of the nsmen. a proper certificate, a medal, and perhaps some monetary incentive will not be inappropriate to those who reach 45 or 50 and no longer need to serve the nation through ns. it is a big moment in the life of an nsmen who has served his country in the most honourable way that is expected of him. the occasion, the moment, must bear some significance to an equally important event. ritual is something that is lacking in our young nation. we need to create and develop more rituals to remember significant moments of our lives and history. and with all the pioneers and earlier batches still alive and kicking, their sacrifices must also be recognised and be rewarded accordingly.

charity fund raising

there is a limit of 30% for the cost of fund raising for charitable organisations. the nkf had exceeded this amount. others claimed that they were able to keep cost to 30% which is well and good. in the case of a charity fund raising show like those on tv, many of the cost will have to be incurred up front. and then the donations from the public will come in during the show. how could the organisers of such charity shows maintained that they can keep cost down to 30% of fund raised when the cost is a pre show expenditure while the donations is unpredictable and depends on so many variables? an expenditure of $1m must bring in a donation of more than $3.5 mil to keep cost down to 30%. what happens if the donation does not come in? in a charity show, there is no way to guarantee that the cost will be less than 30% unless the organisers can guarantee a minimum sum before the show starts.

malaysian/singapore education system

the main difference in the approach towards education in malaysia and singapore, other than the emphasis on different language used in teaching, is the quality of the student intake and output. the malaysian system, affected by political interests, resulted in a levelling down in the academic standards of its products. on the singapore side, because of the emphasis on quality and economic interests, the result is more of a levelling up, catching with the best. outstanding students from neighbouring countries were given scholarships to the schools and universities. and the local students have no choice but to compete with the best foreign students. in malaysia, the best would have to slow down in a cohort made up of many very average students. the best students thus would hardly be challenged and probably got the impression that they were already outstanding with minimal effort. from another perspective, the general perception of all students, including the outstanding students, is the constant doubt whether their good results were real. this kind of image is unhealthy and unfair to the really good students and the whole education system.

how rich are singaporeans?

according to the statistics dept, there are about 3.5 million residents in the island, ie citizens and prs. a guess, our population for citizens may not be more than 3 million. this will give an adult population of maybe 2 million ie above 21. if we divide our reserves of $200 billion it will mean that we have $100,000 for each adult singaporean in the reserve alone. and if each poor household is still owning an asset worth of $100,000 plus another $50,000 est in the cpf, i think on a per capita basis, singaporeans must be one of the richest people in the world. given that, it is unthinkable and perplexing to see so many singaporeans in financial difficulties. is it because of our wrong policies in the allocation of wealth or the management of the wealth of the citizens? why are singaporeans not able to live more comfortably like the rich nations in europe? with the wealth that we have saved, how can we account for 200,000 families looking for state assistance. where is the problem?