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.

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 3^rd 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

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.

Lunar New Year in Chinatown - A pictorial essay

Part of Upper Cross Street leading to New Bridge Road at the end with a horse lantern protruding into view. Taken at about 6pm on 28 Jan 14.

Section of New Bridge Road with Majestic Theatre and People's Park on the right. The decor of horse and Chinese coin lanterns lined both New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Road.

Crowds queuing to buy Bak Kwa from Lim Chi Guan. The dried grilled sweet meat cost $55 per kg this year.

Entrance to Chinatown MRT station at Pagoda Street.

Shoppers in the midst of Chinatown, Pagoda Street.

A boy marvelling at the new year decor for sale.

More decorative pieces for sale inside the shop.

A pretty girl selling balloons. Behind her is another famous Bak Kwa store, Mei Chen Xiang.

Chinese calligraphy scrolls for the main entrance to a house or main hall.

More shoppers for the new year goodies in Temple Street, Chinatown.

Buying groundnuts and watermelon seeds as titbits, to eat and chat during the new year visitings.

Wax meat and ducks, a must new year delicacies especially among the Cantonese.

Shoppers and tourists having a good time at Smith Street, Chinatown.

Alfresco dining in Trengganu Street, Chinatown, on a fine tropical evening.

Part of South Bridge Road leading to Maxwell Road with new year decor.

Entrance from Pagoda Street next to the Sri Mariamman Temple. The temple also has a banner to celebrate the Lunar New Year. A common practice in a very tolerant and amicable multi racial and multi religious city. It is getting a bit dark, nearly 7pm local time.