what an amazing discovery!!!

I have not been to the YPAP forum for quite a while when things there got too dull and full of spamming. Just a while ago I tried to drop in to see if there is any improvement. And I was greeted with a Critical Information window. And yes, it states that I have been banned from YPAP forum. Amazing. I thought I was the most decent forumer there, talking sensibly though at times a bit cynical. And I got banned. I must say that YPAP must have pretty high quality of postings there. I better stay in my own blog/forum and post my own stuff.

Emperor Mahathir speaks

The Emperor speaks. Dr Mahathir Mohamad has met Malacca Chief Minister Khalil Yaakob, who is playing the role of a mediator following his strained relationship with the present leadership of the country. Confirming this, Dr Mahathir said: "When Khalil met me before I left for my holidays recently, I told him what needed to be done. "I told him the solution is very simple, just don't bow to Singapore's demands, don't undermine Proton and don't sell Agusta."... Meanwhile, Malaysia Today, an online magazine reported that that the key issues in Dr. Mahathir's speech in Kota Baru yesterday included the following: · Kalimullah Hassan, PM Abdullah's aide and former editor of the New Straits Times, is "a Singapore agent" without clarification. · Khairy Jamaluddin, the PM's influential son-in-law, became a millionaire in three years. "If want government contract, go see Khairy." The above were extracted from littlespeck.com. After handpicking his successor and bypassing his first choice in Najib, Mahathir now declared that he no longer supports Abdullah Badawi, implying that this is his edict and Badawi must go. He has decided. Then he went on to tell the people that he would not make a comeback as if he will be returned to power if he wanted to. He is the Emperor afterall and he is the one to decide whether he wants to be the Emperor again.

let the butchering continues, the american way

After watching the news and seeing all the pictures of devastation and the number of people displaced, wounded or killed, I find hope. There is hope for an everlasting peace in the Middle East. The Israelis must keep on pounding Lebanon until no one and no building is standing. That is the only way the Israeli know how to solve their problem. And they are very good and efficient in the way they carry it out. Give it another six months and there will be no Lebanon. And if the problem goes over to Syria, do it the same way, methodically. And the civilised world should come together and fight with the Israelis. Then the problem will be solved even faster. The final solution, the mother of all solution, is to wipe out all the Arabs in the Middle East. Then we will have eternal peace. God bless the chosen people.

a trip in contrast. continue

A trip in contrast. continue We hit the North South Highway in double quick time as the traffic was easy and flowing. Gone were the mad rush to the golf courses. Life seemed to have returned to the normal leisure pace. We did not encounter any traffic police road blocks to check our passports or motorists being caught for speeding. Maybe the number of Singaporeans coming over now did not justify the deployment of a police unit of cars, equipment and precious police manpower. No speed trap along the highway too. After exiting Ayer Hitam we headed west to Batu Pahat. We intended to go for Bukit Benang Golf Course but changed our mind and went to the old Batu Pahat Golf Course instead to enjoy the warmth of local hospitality. The road had widened into a 4 lane highway and made driving so easy. We were greeted with a sign board saying Cross Creek outside the club house. Hmmm, very American. A little sign of change. Other than that, the Club was as beautiful as it was, very well maintained, despite a cowgrass course. Plenty of flowers and colours. We had our tussles and arguments and all the digs at each other during the 18 holes. And in between the monkeys were screaming away. Then the 3 wild boars that dashed across the fairway while we were teeing off. Quite a refreshing experience for city folks. We drove out for lunch after 9 holes. The kopitiam was a 2 min drive. We had two big plates of loh may or mixed cuts, chicken, roast ducks, roast pork. Actually we double the order after the first one. Then laksa, wanton noodle, drinks plus 4 large bottles of Calsberg etc. $50 ringgits for the whole works for 4. A big plate of wanton noodle and a big bowl of wanton soup at $2.50 rm each. Dinner was more sumptuous. We went for the famous chicken rice by the sea, otah, chicken wings, carrot cake, clams, big prawns, vegetable, carlsberg, fruits, etc. This was followed by a round of Batu Pahat durians. RM$5 a kg of quality durians with rambutans thrown in by the seller for free as dessert. The whole trip, including caddie fees and tips, cost $110 ringgits. Now how much is that, less than S$50 for a day of golfing and pigging out. How far can S$200 stretch for 4 adults at home? The biggest surprise awaited us on the home leg. We took the side entrance for goods vehicles and were met with an eiree silence. Where were the thousands of Singapore cars and the long queues? We were the third car at the immigration. And only two counters were open. And on the Singapore side, we were the first car! And this was peak hour, 8pm on a saturday night. The best experience of the whole trip was of course the casual and friendly people we met around Batu Pahat and Cross Creek. It was so pleasant that made us want to return again. A little trip to memory lane.

A trip in contrast

A not too contrasting lifestyle but a widening cost of living. I have not been to Malaysia for quite a number of years. For old time sake one of my kakis decided that we should walk down memory lane again. We used to do that when golfing craze was at its height, when golfing in Singapore would cost a hand or a leg, when making money was also easy and spending money in our neighbouring country seemed so fun. We arrived at the causeway at 7.30am. Again we were slammed by the jams on our side of the causeway. When jams occurred on our side, they were the result of more intensive and thorough checks, nothing to do with being slakay or go slow attitude. Definitely not being understaffed or trying to make life easy to the motorists. So we grudgingly nailcrawled all the way to the immigration. Phew, by the time we got through, 45 min were gone. What a waste! The same number of vehicles were also expected to hit the Malaysian side and we should face a worst jam knowing their slakay tiadak apa attitude, go slow to irritate Singaporeans, and scolding Singaporeans for trying to rush through or appearing impatient. Well, where was the jam? We were in a queue of about 10 cars and were through in less 10 minutes. Now what is wrong? So we consoled ourselves that they simply let everyone through without checking. That made us feel better. But actually, there was no difference and all the procedures were followed. Across the causeway the first thing that greeted us was Mahathir. He was standing right across the road once we left the immigration. Huge masses of unfinished concrete with reinforced steel bars jutting into midair. And all the makeshift dividers, were all in a mess. The signs of the crooked bridge halted and abandoned halfway. Now I know why Mahathir was angry.( to be cont)

Prudence - the freedom to spend and to save

“The ordinary people must be able to enjoy and afford these six items at a reasonable price and only then will there be a meaning to us striving to achieve developed nation status,” Lee Hsien Loong said in launching the National Consumer Day celebrations at Bukit Batok here yesterday. “Such a status is not only meant for those who have the means. A developed nation must be for all.” The Prime Minister in emphasising his assurances made these comments on the six item: FOOD and clothes: “There should be adequate supply of food and clothes which are reasonably priced.” Homes: “House prices cannot be too expensive as everyone should be given the opportunity to own affordable homes or rent them at affordable cost.” Cars: “Consumers should also be able to buy cars at reasonably low prices because it had become a necessity for most people today. “Otherwise, public transportation services should be of high quality and the cost should remain low.” Education: “It should be affordable so that it will not prevent the poor from improving their lot.” Medical treatment: “There must be cheap and quality drugs and not expired ones. The cost of treatment must also be affordable.” Communication services (including Internet connection): “Every Sinkaporean must be able to enjoy such modern services,” he said. However, the Prime Minister reminded the people that they have to be smart consumers and be prudent with their spending. He said, as consumers, they should look out for good bargains when sourcing these six essential items. “We, on our part, will constantly monitor the inflation situation, but consumers should know their role as consumers to help ensure it is under control,” he said. The above was quoted from Sammyboy. I only take issues with two points, prudent and affordable. How can people be prudent and spent only on the amount they want to spend when they are expected to spend according to their income level in medical care and buying HDB flats? The other issue is affordability. Affordable according to who or what standard? A person earning $5k or $10k will find many things affordable as compare to one who is earning $2k. And one who earns a million a year will find everything is affordable. Shall HDB do away with income ceiling and let the people choose whichever flat they are comfortable with and not be coerced, by their income, to purchase bigger flats? After all the subsidy is market subsidy and not a subsidy on the cost of building the flats. In reality the subsidy is to reduce the profit that HDB could have made. The people must have the freedom of choice to spend only the amount they want to spend.

Middle East - The tide is changing!

I am just observing the wars in the Middle East, a contest of the West versus the Arabs/Muslims. It has been a case of modernity kicking the arses of medieval tribes for a few centuries. One side advancing and conquering the world with science and technology and another side allowing science and technology to pass them by. And in warfare, it is always one side beating the other. One side seems so formidable, and superior, and another so backward, primitive in a sense and helpless, poorly armed. And the weaker side is always on the losing end, being beaten by superior force and technology. Then came the American invasion of Iraq. It was so easy and the Iraqis scattered and ran. But that proved to be only for a moment. They have regrouped and starting to give hell to the invaders. The Americans are bogged down in a war they cannot win, like in Vietnam. That frightens the shit out of the the planners and decision makers in the White House and Pentagon. Superior force and superior men are losing grounds to the most fearful military strategy that have seen them lost in Vietnam. Guerilla warfare, asymetrical warfare, where superior arms and forces were helpless in a battlefield that is not defined and no enemies on the cross hairs. The Iraqis have stood the ground and are no cowards at they were thought to be. They are hitting back and American casualties are mounting. Yesterday, 9 Israeli soldiers were killed and 27 wounded in battle against the Hezbollahs. What, Israeli soldiers killed in battle! Never have such things or such numbers been counted on the Israeli side. How could the mighty and efficient and well trained Israeli soldiers got killed by the poorly equipped Hezbollahs? This success of the Hezbollahs, and their ability to launch rockets and missiles into Israeli territories are going to change the perception of the Arabs on the invincibility of the Israelis. The Israelis can be beaten. The young Israeli soldiers are just as green and lost as the young Americans sent into Vietnam. And they can be taken down just the same. This kind of thoughts is going to give the Arab resistance fighters a lot more confidence in themselves. Given more organisation and better weapons and the will to fight, they are taking out the Israelis. The myth that Israeli soldiers are too superior to the Arabs is crumbling down. There will be more Israeli casualties and more Israeli mothers will be crying. The tide is starting the change. The beaten are beating back.

time to build bridges - parameswaran

"Singapore should consider a gesture to move relations with Malaysia forward. After all, we are its most immediate neighbour. .. "Similarly, now would be a good time to turn to Malaysia and offer a gesture of goodwill," he told a meeting of the Rotary Club of Johor Baru on Tuesday. The above were spoken by the Malaysian High Commisioner to Singapore, Parameswaran and reported in the New Straits Times. Agree that both sides should build more bridges as we are going to be neighbours for a long long time. Better to be friends than enemies. But with a big battle looming in Malaysia now, it is better for Singapore to stay clear and wait for the storm to pass or we might get very wet when we are engulfed by it. Wait for clear skies when things are clearer before treading in the water.

UN and Middle East

Below are two posts I lifted from redbeanforum on middle east. Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:00 pm Post subject: If you agree, then the UN is a farce? It costs billions of dollars to run, it is corrupt, it is ineffective, it is biased, What is it for but to give a platform for people to practice the oratory skills? Won't the money spent on running the UN be more effective in providing medical care to the poor, raise their standard of living a fraction, and let the Big boys brain one another senseless, because that is what they are going to do anyway? The UN is one huge White Elephant! Post by elle in redbeanforum. Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:18 am Post subject: Hahaha elle, Nice thought. That's why they should put Chok Tong there as the next UN Sec Gen. He would clean up the place and introduce Singapore's work culture, ethics and incorruptibility in the UN. Not only that, the UN will also become a profit centre and making money from all its operations and aid programme. Nothing is for free. It is biased alright. Everyone is looking after their own interests. The US just blocked a motion for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Israel has pledged that it would intensify its pounding of Lebanon. What Israel and the US should do is to get a coalition of 20 or 30 countries and wipe out whatever they want to wipe out in Lebanon and put in half a million troops there, just like Iraq. There then will be some kind of security there and Israel will no longer come under attacks from Hezbollah. And the Al Qaeda can activate all their cells around the world and start to hit at Israeli and American targets. That would be interesting. And since both sides are so keen to outdo each other, let them have a free hand to go all out to achieve their objectives. It will come to an end faster than if there are so many restraints facing them now.

2 room flats - when reality sets in

"This is part and parcel of what we've been doing, to expand the range of options for Singaporeans from all walks of life to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment, to own their homes and have a stake in Singapore." Mah Bow Tan Singaporeans from all walks of life, from the very rich to the very poor, will now have the opportunity to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment. So I would presume that there is no family income to exclude those with higher incomes to buy 2 room flats. Otherwise how could the rich Singaporeans qualify to buy 2 room HDB flats? And I didn't know that it is so pleasurable to living in a HDB environment. And it is also a privilege! Singaporeans are so lucky. They better quickly sell off their private and landed properties to enjoy such pleasures which they have missed. And these 2 room flats are made affordable for Singaporean, meaning that many cannot afford them if there is no subsidies. What is the reality of all these? Are the bottoms falling off and Singaporeans no longer able to afford 3 rooms or bigger HDB flats? OK let me qualify this statement before it becomes brown soup. When talking about HDB flats, I am referring to the heartlanders/hardlanders. Not the successful and super rich in their private and landed properties. So are the heartlanders now becoming hardlanders? Are their lives improving, are they better off today than yesterday? Is downgrading into 2 room flats a lifestyle choice, a privilege for people to enjoy the pleasures of HDB living. What is real? When the stake of a Singaporean is a 2 room flat, is there really anything worth defending or fighting for?

use a bully to fight a bully

Irfan Husain, a columnist for Dawn, an English language newspaper in Pakistan, has an article published in the Today paper titled, 'Insecurities of the Local Bully.' The gist of his article is about a big bully, Israel, bullying its weak and helpless Arab neighbours. It is such an irony that this big bully was once weak and helpless under the Nazis in Europe. They were meekly marched into concentration camps and gas to death without much resistance. The Arabs actually show more resistance to this bully than when the bully was bullied by the Nazis. It is all a game of power. In the face of a stronger bully, the weak will surrender meekly. The nemesis of the Israelis must be the Nazis. Maybe the Arabs should work closely with the Nazis, get their help, to fight the Israelis. The Nazis sure know how to frighten and intimidate the Jews. And when come face to face with the Nazis, the Jews will have no answer. You need a bully to handle a bully.

time to learn from malaysia

Who says Malaysia has nothing to teach us? Slowly but surely we are starting to copy the good ideas coming from across the causeway. The first hint of such a mental shift is to build the underground road network in the city and allow the developers to collect tolls. Collecting tolls is the masterpiece of Malaysian infrastructure development. It is their trademark. Now we are going to fly our national flags in taxis, buses and private cars. The Malaysians have been doing this for donkey years. Now Singapore is catching up with the idea. What else that we can learn from our neighbours? Would we be considering building a half bridge too? Good for toll business. Or are we going for more Guinness Book of Records? The Malaysians have beaten us to that in the number of records they have created, the largest national flag, the largest ketupat, the biggest kettle, the largest drum orchestra, etc. We can have the longest queue in Orchard Road, the longest popiah, the longest sarong....the most artificially created icons, the merlions...

myth 46

'Know who is more important than know how' In a society that prides itself as prim and proper, without any cronyism, and the best man wins based on his own merit, it is quite surprising to here such a myth being spread in the kopitiams. Often you can hear people whispering that the guy who is rising rapidly in the corporate ladder has very little know how but plenty of know who. Isn't this familiar? Of course this is a myth. Everyone attains their position of authority and power definitely not just because of know who. Knowing who is important, but not that important. Being the who's who is the thing. When one is the who's who, there is no need for knowing who. But this is not something that is peculiar to any country. It is common to all countries and all cultures. Being a son in law is good enough to aspire to be the youngest CEO or the next Prime Minister. Being the son, like Richard Li, will be given billions of dollars to play monopoly. Real stuff! So, what's so great about know who? The next time when someone whispers about knowing who, point to the who's who.

MPS - meet and punch session!

This taxi driver is just too much. How could he turn a Meet the People Session into a Meet and Punch Session. No matter what, should charge him for assaulting a public servant. It is not joke being a MP and be beaten up by a resident. I hope the MP is covered by some insurance for such occupational risks.

74 and still desperate to work!

Why would a 74 year old grand dad got so desperate as to punch a member of parliament all for a taxi licence? Shouldn't he be happily retired, living in retirement resorts or marking time in HDB void decks? Didn't he have enough CPF savings to keep him going? The CPF minimum sum scheme should have been introduced earlier and Singaporeans need not be so desperate when they are old. A normal Singaporean should expect to work for about 30 years to earn enough to feed him for another 30 years. And in the mean time he has to pay for his flat and to bring up a family. Simply put, he has 4 things to work and budget for. Flat, family, his own upkeep for 30 + 30 years. Plus one more, inflation. Singaporeans are rich.

myth 44

''If we fail to do so, leadership renewal will falter, the PAP will inevitably decline and Singapore will suffer.' by Lee Hsien Loong I can agree with Hsien Loong, in fact fully agree with him, that if there is no leadership renewal, PAP will and must decline. That is a truism. As for the second part that Singapore will suffer, that is very subjective and is based on the assumption that Singapore's well being is linked to PAP. Without the PAP, even in the future, Singapore will suffer. This is as good as a belief. Without the PAP in the future, why can't there be a better and more professional and dedicated group of people coming forward to serve? And why is it that only the PAP can attract good people and other parties can't? What will happen tomorrow is anybody's guess. Who knows, Singapore might need to be saved by a new party if PAP falls into the wrong hands. Linking Singapore's well being with the PAP is thus a very subjective claim.

myth 45

'There is no press freedom' After the recent brown commotion, more people are saying 'See, See, didn't I tell you! Where got press freedom?' Everyone seems to have found the same conclusion. And maybe that could be the reason why so many bloggers and forumers also quit cyberspace. But I choose to defer. How could there by no press freedom? Remember how freely the local press wrote about the general elections and praising all the candidates? Remember they had a field day writing voluminous reports about the general election practically everyday? Wasn't that press freedom? A better proof is that all our professional journalists have not complained about no press freedom here. So what more proof does one need to say that there is press freedom and our journalists are all very content with the state of affair. What Bhavani's edict actually forbid are very reasonable. No partisan politics, no undermining national policies and no championing of issues. Anything else ok. See, what more can one ask for? There are a lot of press freedom as long as one does not violate Bhavani's edict. And cyberspace and blogs, completely free to write whatever you want. Complaining that there is no press freedom is thus a myth.

singtel may be looking for foreign ceos

In the paper's headline today, Singtel may seek foreign CEO. This is probably the wisest and most sensible thing to do since there is no local talents left after Hsien Yang vacated his seat. He was there for 12 years and was too busy expanding the business that no one was groomed to succeed him. Don't they have any good local talents left? I did asked earlier about Ngiam Tong Dow's criticism of getting foreign CEOs to run local companies. I think he was joking. We truly, really, don't have that kind of talents that can earn US$200 mil a year. See, talent is measured by how much one can command. We have seen so much praise to a local talent who earned peanuts. The second notch international talent should be asking for US$50 to 60 million. Third notch maybe US$30 mil, and 4th to 5th notch maybe asking fot US$10 mil. These are still far more talented than all our local CEOs who are talented only up to US$3-5 mil. So maybe we get a 6th to 7th notch foreign CEOs should do the trick. It is actually quite disappointing that after so many years we still don't have top notch CEOs. Not even in the top 5 levels. It is high time we employed someone who is really top notch and pay him US$200 million. Then we can showcase to the world that we have world best top notch CEOs. For the time being we shall be content with our 10th notch local CEOs and quickly replaced them when some foreign 6th or 7th notch CEOs are available. But better check which universities they graduated from, if they did graduated as claimed.

is it embarrassing to be a local journalist?

Mr Wang Bakes Good Karma spoke about the declining and limited role of local journalists in the main stream media. What he said actually made a lot of sense. Not only has the credibility of the local journalists is being badly bruised, they should be now quite clear what they can write about and what they cannot. And the good thing is that the bloggers and internet forums are given a freer hand, which means that people who wants an alternative view must get them from the internet. The mainstream media is just there to present a specific news angle. Would this lead to more interests in internet news and internet be seen as a threat to the official views in the mainstream media? And, would the local journalists speak out to redefine their role or are they going to swallow everything and surrender their sacred role and duty as journalists? How would our journalists face up to their international counterparts when confronted with questions regarding their professional duties as journalists? Maybe all these are good for a young country like ours. We don't need the flair and inquisitiveness of journalists running around and telling different things to the people. We cannot afford to have different viewpoints that may undermine the efforts in nation building.

myth 43

'Renewal of leadership will save the party and country' There is no doubt that renewal of party leaders is important to keep the party fresh and highly motivated and not be stuck with a stagnant system of ideas and people. But this is only a small piece of a whole tapestry. Sorry many are just tapestry weavers. There are many other aspects which have to be addressed other than just head counts. The goals, the direction and priorities to reorganise and restructure society and people as a nation are equally important. We have done very well as a nation for many years. But strains and cracks are appearing but either ignored or viewed as not important or irrelevant, or even as a part and parcel of progress. A little reflection on what life was before and now, how a single income family could live life quite comfortably, how a university degree was a passport to a comfortable lifestyle, how four figure monthly income was considered quite wealthy. The time when a decent semi D cost an equivalent of 3 or 4 years annual income, a car could be had at the price of half a years income of a fresh graduate. What is happening to our wealthy society when more people are feeling stressed and unhappy, got lost in the rat race, and a two income family can only just get by, a single income family is never enough? Are the masses of today really better off than the masses of yesteryears?