Latest Views of DPRK - video

video - Life in DPRK (North Korea)

Latest, First-personal glimpses into the different shades of life in Pyongyang, capital city of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) or "North Korea" by the First DPRK Business Mission from Singapore.

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https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6454735943365685248/

Watch the video as you read the related Articles. ENJOY ...!

Related:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dawn-peace-dr-michael-heng-pbm/

Also HERE @ MySingapore News:

https://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2018/09/north-korea-or-its-official-name.html

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PM succession issue and the resilience of the Civil Service

Hsien Loong has said that he is going to retire soon. 5 or 6 potential PMs have been named but no one has stood out yet as the crown prince. With time running out fast, it looks like the next PM is not going to have much time for apprenticeship compares to the time taken by Chok Tong and Hsien Loong. One had about 5 years and the other more than 10 years. For the scholars who would like to do studies on the effectiveness of a Singapore PM measured against the time of apprenticeship, there are some empirical data to prove their case. For that they may want to throw in LKY and his lack of apprenticeship into the study, maybe as a placebo effect. Is there any correlation between performance and effectiveness against the time under apprenticeship? How relevant is apprenticeship to the performance of a PM?
 
Some people may be wondering why no one has stood out so far as the crown prince, the PM elect among the appointees? Is it that they are not good enough, or all about the same, too difficult to choose who is the better candidate? There is another unspoken question that no one dares to ask. What if none of them are better than their seniors like the two DPMs or Khaw Boon Wan, Ng Eng Hen or Shanmugam or Lim Swee Say for that matter? Another question, do the senior ministers respect the newly appointed PM elects?
 
I have been posing many questions on this issue without giving any answers as no one has the right answers and everyone will have his own view of the issue in discussion. What if no one is found good enough or identified when Hsien Loong quits as PM, I mean retires as PM suddenly? Would there be a leadership crisis? Would the govt ground to a halt? Boh cheng hu?
 
Some fearmongers may want to raise an alarm. How can the country survive without a PM? It must be critical and a crisis situation and there will be a loss of confidence in the country. It would be panic station. Jiat lat.
 
If such a situation occurs when no one is filling in as PM and everyone is second guessing and there is a power struggle, what would happen to Singapore? Would the police force or the armed forces stop functioning? Would the PUB stop operating? Would the HDB stop all its services? Would the hospitals stop treating the sick? Would the judicial system stand down? Would the MRT stop running, etc, etc?
 
I think nothing of these would happen. All the ministries and stats boards and public and private organizations would function as per normal, at least for a few months, until the next PM is found. The govt, the ministries, the Civil Service will not grind to a halt. We have built a very efficient and resilient system that would go on running, auto pilot in a way, without a PM or even a political govt in charge for a while. The country would not turn into chaos overnight unless there is a coup.
 
I am presuming that our Civil Service is not a house of cards that cannot function without a political party lording over it, at least during an interim period. Many of the top civil servants are better educated and trained and experience than the boys and girls in politics.
 
What do you think?

President called prostitutes, Supreme Court judge in sexual assaults

Trump has been exposed several times for calling prostitutes and for groping the fairer sex. These could be quite normal activities of individual indiscretion and no one would pay much attention on such private matters. But the president of the USA…? And his nominee to the Supreme Court judge bench has been accused and exposed for sexual assaults and related activities, revealed in public hearings and reported in the mass media.
 
What is striking in both cases is the lack of shame in both individuals in high offices with not thinking that they are still fit for public office. And what is also striking is that the whole American society did not see anything wrong or offensive in these acts committed by their leaders, a president and another going to be a Supreme Court judge, listening to cases on injustice, crimes, immorality, sexual offences etc etc. And they have been fabricating such sordid stories about Kim Jong Un and his late father of womanising to discredit them as unfit for public office.
 
Still not getting it? Ok, just imagine that one is the president or PM of Singapore and the other is going to be appointed to our very own Supreme Court. How would the Singaporeans and the mass media here react to them? A speaker and an MP had resigned and faded away quietly.
 
In the USA, the two individuals are strutting around with no sense of guilt or shame. It is like a new normal, nothing unusual, nothing undesirable, nothing to fuzz about. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the characters of these two men in high offices. They are fighting to stay in high office despite the revelations in public hearings.
 
In the little red dot, even a legal divorce would not speak well in some people’s minds. Personal indiscretion is an absolute no no. No scandal is allowed if one is to hold public office. Maybe this is one of the reasons why our political leaders and leaders in high offices are paid so highly and so highly regarded, like immortals, no smears.
 
Are the American way of life and moral values something that we should emulate as the desirable way going forward? Would Singaporeans accept our people in high offices, in public offices, to have similar indiscretions as Trump and Kavanaugh?
 
What do you think?

Scoot Mayday, RSAF F15 scrambled

Man fined $4,500 for Scoot bomb hoax. This was the headline of thenewpaper yesterday. When I read the content I could not even cry, could not even laugh. My jaw dropped in disbelief. This is another classic story of stupidity has no cure for the record. I will just state the facts as reported in thenewpaper and let you guys wonder what it was all about.
 
A man, Hsu Chun Meng, was flying off to HatYai on a Scoot flight. His hand luggage was too big to fit into the overhead luggage compartment and the stewardess told him he had to check in his baggage. She also asked him if he had any prohibited items in the bag. He replied, ‘Nothing, only bombs.’ The stewardess stared at him and he replied, ‘No bomb lah. Joking. How can it be?’
 
When the plane was about to take off, the stewardess reported the incident to the cabin crew in charge. The latter tried to contact the captain but unable to do so as the flight was about to take off and the cockpit door was locked.
 
She only managed to talk to the captain after take off and the captain followed the established protocol, made a Mayday call and flew the aircraft back to Singapore. The plane was carrying 179 passengers. A fighter aircraft was scrambled to escort it back.
 
The man was subsequently charged and fined $4,500 for the bomb hoax.
 
These were the facts. Over to you guys. Laugh if you can, cry if you want.
 
Stupidity has no cure? What do you think?
 
Key points. If it was a real bomb and not a hoax. If it was a joke….

Govt hospital as profit making business

I wrote about this subject many years back, that with the increasing medical fees and profits in the health business many govt doctors and specialists would be attracted to leave for the private sector to make their millions. The smell of money is intoxicating. And there is no need to utter silly things like big sacrifices. This is only human nature. Everyone in any profession would be attracted and want to make as much money as they could. Staying and working in the govt hospitals would no longer be a good choice except for those that value their contribution to the bigger good of society and patients more than money making.
 
As such it would be expedient and practical for some sort of arrangement or combination to allow govt hospital doctors and specialists to enjoy some monetary perks by offering their expertise to private patients at market rate. Govt hospitals could set aside a certain percentage of hospital beds and doctors/specialists for this purpose to take a share of the medical tourism business.
 
A main benefit for such an arrangement is to retain more doctors/specialists in govt hospitals as otherwise they would leave for the more rewarding private sector. Another benefit is that the profits generated could be used to lower the cost of subsidised patients in govt hospitals. In this way, both the doctors/specialists and subsidized patients would be winners, and lesser staff turnover problems for govt hospitals. The govt doctors and specialists would be recognized and rewarded to some extent for their skills and expertise without having to envy their rich peers in the private sectors.
 
The caveat is that there must be enough capacity in govt hospitals to take care of full paying private patients and the general public on subsidized rates. This is basic in managing skills. Carefully tweaked this could be a win win solution for all parties.
 
I just read in theindependent that this scheme was actually in practice for a number of years but would be stopped because of the short supply of beds in govt hospitals. This is from theindependent.sg, ‘After nearly a decade of not banning such practices, MOH has now told hospitals that they are no longer allowed to “actively market themselves to foreign patients” since the priority of public healthcare institutions must be to serve Singaporeans’ healthcare needs.
 
MOH’s decision comes after the public hospital bed crunch across Singapore, in recent years.
In one notable case in 2014, CGH pitched tents on its hospital grounds to accommodate patients after reaching 100 per cent bed occupancy and despite renting wards from private hospitals to hold patients….’

With the termination of this arrangement, I think it would become a lose lose situation for all. And the cause of it, not enough hospital beds. Why? Don’t they plan ahead in view of the greater demands for hospital beds and services? I can think of the bicycle sharing schemes, a good scheme but short in planning. They never cater for more bicycle parking lots and regulations to stop littering of bicycles everywhere.
 
When there is high demand for such medical services, why don’t they build more hospitals and provide more beds? Not so simple? KNN, super talents with super out of this world pay cannot find a better solution than just simply stopping a good scheme that benefits everyone, including govt revenue, cannot plan ahead? This business is high value added, good profits, anytime better than promoting more kopitiams and hawker centres for low and semi skill labour and low returns that befit third world countries aspirations, or building more shopping centres.
 
Medical tourism is good business, highly reputable and highly desirable business requiring high skilled professionals, and a little planning and foresight could avoid this simple logistic problem of demand and supply.
 
What do you think?

Singapore at a cross road choosing between China and India

The last decade or so after the demise of LKY, Singapore has chosen to follow the Americans and played the role of little USAs, dancing like little puppets on a string, depending on which string the Americans were pulling. It has a lot of advantages, primarily it gave Singapore the luxury of punching above its weight, sitting on the shoulder of American might. Singapore was so arrogant and confident that with the Americans behind, it could kick anyone it liked, behaving like a spoilt brat.
 
China was no exception and treated just like another state to be told off, to be challenged with total disrespect as if Singapore was an equal to China’s economic and military might. The blaring at China to follow the dubious ruling of the so called ‘UN backed’ funny private court formed by one party on the South China Sea dispute was the last straw, and China hit back. It was a rude awakening, that small country could not anyhow barked at big powers and thought it could get away with it. The reality was so shocking to those that advocated punching above its weight and totally relied on and be dependent on the Americans for its security concerns. This blind belief in American power was given a rough jolt and a thorough review on this policy was undertaken. Singapore paid a heavy price for listening to wrong advice from people who had fallen asleep and did not know what was happening in the world of big power relations, people who believed in their own delusion of greatness.
 
The Americans were no longer the Americans they used to know. The China was no longer the China they knew. It was late than never to wake up to the new reality. The world has changed while Singapore happily took a nap, thinking that all was well, all was the same.
 
Subsequent to the new developments and a new awakening, Singapore took a deep breath and found that it has to reshape its position vis a vis the new balance of power. The American way is no longer the way to a safe and secure future. The belligerent and warring path of the evil Empire would only drag Singapore into more troubles and enmeshed in disputes and wars that it needed not be involved. There is a need for rebalancing and to take a new policy forward for the good of Singapore. Putting all its eggs into the American basket is not the right way or safe way going forward.
 
The Americans’ isolationist and unilateral policies of going alone and thinking American first policy make things clearer and easier for Singapore to change direction. Free trade, multilateralism and rule of law are what were good for Singapore and what Singapore stood for. But whither Singapore if it stops taking sides with the Americans blindly to create trouble all over the world, starting wars, engaging in wars and in conspiracies and in destabilizing countries and regions?
 
The two rising Asian powers in India and China were beckoning. Come join us, we are the future super powers. Should Singapore join the Indian camp and be as powerful and prosperous as India as India rises to become the next super power, or should Singapore join the Chinese growth engine and be part of the Chinese plan to rebuild the world? Would Singapore become more like India or more like China as it realigns its policies with the next winning side, the next super power after Pax Americana?
 
PS. If Chok Tong is still the PM, the direction is very clear. He is very proud of the CECA and his Indian fever and the demography of Singapore is likely to change.
 
As for Hsien Loong, after years of listening to the pro USA and Indian camp and antagonizing China, leading to the Terrex Incident, his position is now wavering. On one hand he is trying to get into the BRI band wagon and chirping that Sino Singapore relations are very good and Singapore must be neutral in big power rivalry. On the other hand, the attack on China continues in the main media with many biased and anti China articles published almost daily.
 
Where would Singapore be heading? Would Singapore become more like Mumbai or Shanghai?

The forces for the abolishment of S377A gaining momentum

Read in YahooNews that a former ST editor by the name of Alan John is calling the people to take a stand for secularism when religious people use religion to impose their values on the secular. He posted an article in in face book and reported in coconuts.com titled,  Former ST editor highlights the importance of standing up for secularism in the face of religious pressure.

This debate arising from the movement calling for the abolition of an 'outdated' law that forbids sex between men is seeing people taking sides for and against the law. Many prominent and eminent and influential elite and natural aristocrats have joint forces with the anti S377A law, calling for its abolition. The religious groups are also up in arms against this threat to the natural order of things, the natural order of creation. With the growing presence of LGBTs, the old natural order of things is looking like unnatural and the new natural order of things is like everything LGBT. So what is the natural order of things?

At the moment the majority is belongs to the old natural order of things. What if the LGBTs become a majority and the new natural order of things? We do not really know how big is the LGBTs as many are still hiding in the closets, many shy to own up to their sexual inclinations and preference, the number could be very large.

While the debate is going on and with stranger and stranger people, once thought of as the old natural order of things, speaking for the new natural order of things, one begins to question where are these people coming from? What is their agenda and who they really are?

Perhaps it is proper for the two camps to come clean and reveal their sexual preference or religious background before making a stand. In this way we will know why are these people taking the stand they chose to and not because of hidden motive or agenda. Ya, please come clean and be transparent. These two words are the key principles of Singaporean affairs. Anyone not coming clean is as guilty and sinister as the devil. When one fears coming clean, it means one is hiding something.

Let the debate continues with everyone declaring upfront who and what they are. I can understand the points raised between a sin and a crime, one a religious norm of what is acceptable and what is not, the other a legal position, a law to forbid a certain act. There are times when the two coincide and there are times when the two differ, sometimes by a lot, sometimes a little.

What do you think? Are the neutral, central, non partisan, hetero bias also taking sides, or those taking sides are actually not the neutral, central but partisan and homo bias, with vested interests in saying what they are saying?

PS. It is understandable that those born with such biological traits would behave or prefer to have their own ways or life style. But there are many that are born straight but unthinking or thinking that it is fashionable, after a few intakes of drugs, to think that this is the in thing to go for, the new natural order of things.