把经济战略委员会交托给稳健可靠之手

Original Blog Written by Alex Au HERE

“渔网已广阔地散布了”，海峡时报如此报导25位经济战略委员会(Economic Strategies Committee)成员的任命，他们被委任去识别出“新加坡经济成长的新方式”。25位成员之中九位是政府部长。 [这里读]

第十位来自新加坡金融管理局(MAS)，而第十一位是人民行动党(PAP)议员，代表政府控制的全国职工縂会(NTUC)。

其他成员是企业的领导人，其中之“二名成员…对首要的中国经济有详细的知识“，海峡时报如此报导。

我粗略地看一下伴随着这侧新闻报导的委员会成员名单。 的确，25位成员之中24位来自政府领导人或企业界的人仕。 仅一位来自学术界：新加坡国立大学工商学院的院长 Bernard Yeung教授。整个委员会没有全职的经济学家或者知识分子 (除了Yeung教授之外)。

读者必须对委员会的组成能否符合它的指定目标而感到疑惑。我无意轻视他们的才智和能力，但事实显示非政府的成员 (a)已经忙于他们的全职工作去经营业务,和(b)将倾向于通过他们现职行业的角度去透视未来。 他们不会告诉委员会他们的行业是一个夕阳行业, 或者是一个没有希望在新加坡发展的行业，因而我们应该摒弃它。

再者，近一半委员会是由政府部长所组成，预计他们可能高度辩护我们现在经营的经济模式如果其他成员对此模式作出批评。有谁会期望一些真正非传统的想法能够浮现于这个委员会之内和能够公平地受到考虑呢？

为什么我有如下这个感觉呢？这场门面功课(showpiece)的结果将是一本光滑的小册子根本上认为我们的经济模式是健全的，它方向是正确的，它基本性质是坚实的，并且我们必须做的东西就是更加艰苦工作，和做更多同样的东西。

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两个星期前，海峡时报发表了一篇由新加坡国立大学、经济系、应用和政策经济中心主任Basant Kapur 经济学教授所撰写的客座文章。该文让读者对知识分子之见解略知一二，但这些见解将不可能来自那25位政府和企业权贵的委员会。但Basant Kapur教授并未被委任为该委员会之成员。

在他的文章中(档案在这里) Kapur教授谈论宏观问题而不是专门性的行业问题。 他首先瞄准谈论关于研究与开发的问题(R&D) ，并指出南韩和台湾怎样把R&D严密地与本地企业如Samsung和Acer连结起来。在新加坡，他指出商品化(commercialization) 的圆环并没有关闭连结起来，因此我们未能真实地利用我们在R&D的投资。

我认为有趣地Kapur教授设有指出另一个区别： 台湾和南韩有如日本，有大量的本土成长的大型制造企业。 通过在R&D的投资，他们依靠自己的力量在他们经营的企业领域之内成为业界领导者。

新加坡的经济模式自从20世纪60年代以来与台湾和南韩是完全不同的。 我们集中于邀请外国跨国公司在这里设立他们的制造业务。 他们向新加坡的承诺只是看这个地方是个有效的生产基地。 这里不是他们发明和生产最尖端产品的发源地(home-base)。

Kapur教授也认为我们的国内市场应为我们的经济提供更好的支持。因为我们的人口这么小因此我们不得不出口的这个概念，并不是表面看上去那么简单的。

没有任何一位能胜任的经济学家会认为新加坡的国内市场应该为它的产品提供100%的需求。 反而，真正的论点应是国内消费占新加坡的国民生产总值(GDP) 的百份率实在是太低了，它多年来一直下跌至现在少于GDP的40% 。 相比起来，香港的国内消费超过GDP 的60%。

如果新加坡的水平能增至较近香港的水平，国内消费将是我们经济的一根更强的支柱，和更加稳定的支柱。 — 摘自Basant K Kapur的一部书题为“将来的战略”

Kapur教授争论道：我们的消费量对国民生产总值比率下降的一个大原是因为物业(property)吞吃了太多新加坡人的收入。 私人物业特别叮咬了巨大的一口。并且，因为许多公共房屋的居民响往拥有私人物业，引致了他们过份储蓄。

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回来再谈一谈我们依赖在新加坡投资的跨国公司。新的改革党(Reform Party)的党秘书长和经济学家Kenneth Jeyaretnam指出对于美国税务规章的最近变动应该给予比现时更多的关注。

Jeyaretnam如此写道：这些美国税务变动将阻碍美国公司在海外操作和停止支援新加坡的经济模式。政府尚未承认这是一个威胁或者解释政府意欲采取什么步骤来抵销这税务变动。

Jeyaretnam在他题为美国的税收规则改变和对新加坡的涵义-囚犯的困境的文章中有以下的解释：传统上每个国家的政府仅是征收企业在它的疆土之内操作经营所得盈利的税项。 美国政府不久便征收美国公司全球性操作盈利的税项。 这意味着，如果美国公司在新加坡操作经营，它不仅必须对新加坡政府缴纳它在新加坡操作所得盈利的税，而且对美国政府也将缴纳它在新加坡操作盈利的税。

当以上情况发生时，美国公司为什么要在新加坡有任何操作呢？ 为什么不保留操作在美国本土和只缴纳一次的税呢？

美国如此做是为了阻止本国工业流出至其他国家，而且处罚把本地工作带离国土(export jobs) 的美国企业。但反面是“对新加坡可能具有严重的涵义，因为这将确定地导致在新加坡一些重要的工作和投资的损失。这情况将变得更加严重，并且特别是如此严重，若果其他的主要经济体仿效美国的话”，Jeyaretnam如上写道。

这是我们长期依赖外国投资和忽略国内本地企业之后要面对的外来威胁。当前的情况是新加坡缺乏国际水平的出口商，“部分是由于国内市场细小，并且部分是由于政府的缺点因它集中了促进净储蓄 (net savings)和把盈余(surplus)投资在海外”。

作为第一个回应， Jeyaretnam有如Kapur教授一样争辩说： “通过增加国内消费和投资，我们是有可观的空间去扩展经济。 这里需要政府部门带头领先减低税收或服务费… 或者增加基础设施、教育和卫生消费”。

Jeyaretnam认为我们必须再次评估政府联系的公司(GLC)通常被视为经济成长引擎的论点。 “我的优先选择是鼓励私人企业的参与，而不是GLC企业的进一步扩张”。

不用说， Jeyaretnam也未被任命为经济战略委员会之成员。

One day when a old building became new again in Bukit Bintang

This was what we saw when we arrived early in the morning, a shit building that had been neglected for over 40 years /  a team was sent to clean the building before inserting sensors.

 

 

 

 

 

Several broken windows had to be replaced / loose windows realigned and structure rivetted - Trajan and Kadjal. They seem to work very well together; for some reason each of them seems to know what the other is thinking and the way they climb is intuitive. I wish, I could climb with such confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 3 rounds of rotating shift work, it looks new again. We had to clean it at least 4 times and you will be amazed how much dirt was removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Before / notice the white deposit on the clading / that stuff is cancer to buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After cleaning and treatment…cavers were sent in for this section as only they have the experience for this type of narrow climbs – Pumpman & KOHO shift….it’s brand new again.

 

 

 

 

 

Can you make out the zebra crossing and street lamp in the upper hand corner?..that’s how high it is…working on the third shift. We drew the short straw. No one seems to talk very much, only hand signals were used and the team is slowly gelling find that line when they can work effectively and safely - there is plenty of fear, loads of it, but everyone seems to be dealing with it in their own way, no one talks about it, but it is always there / Darkness & Harphoon shift (I belayed, Darkness told me in the last minute not to come down with him. I have no idea why usually I will question him, but on this occasion, I think he knows best – hence the additional safety rope; I also helped him with a torch light from above to shine the way as his head lamp isn’t powerful enough).

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone is responsible for his own kit / usually, it is layed out pasar malam style like so all the time, so in the event of an emergency, if some needs to be rescued / those who are resting can prep up in a flash and go down / those of you who have alpine experience will wonder why I (Harphoon) tied it off fireman style, that’s a long story – basically each man has 5 sets of rope - two rappel / two emergency / one set for rescue transverse. This is the standard kit for one climber.

We thank our Malaysian friends for bearing with us and showing us such warm hospitality - many of our Malaysian channel partners came with offers to help (this was politely declined / some even brought us tasty food - terima kasih/ The work seems to go on and on and after 3 rotating shifts – the various sub teams are finally finding their line three – I can understand why Darkness ONLY insisted on mature climbers for this mission / broken glass is slices through kermantle rope like butter / we had a few of these incidences – for the most part the work  is ceaseless and grinding as Darkness rightly pointed and it seems to require alot of mindfulness; as from what I see since there are no foot holds there is no where to really rest and even gather your nerves – its just one very long climb on a sheer vertical rock face like El Cap / earlier during the second shift, we had an incident with Trajan, he got snagged and found himself upside down, but Trajan is a skilled climber, he didn’t panic and calmly tied a prussik / as safety officer I signalled a rescue team; they rappeled down; head first (commando style) and belayed him down apart from that one single incident, it was quiet uneventful, except for rope burns and the occasional nicks – everyone is in still in one piece  ( I wished I had captured  the episode and posted  it on up tube / it was very dramatic all done in less than 30 seconds flat! / we are slowing but surely transforming our new gaming server farm into a crystal palace / my only regret is this gaming server farm should have been sited  in Singapore – but for some reason many who make up the guilds do not consider it a stable locale to site such an important facility –  Tmr a new team will arrive to start drilling / they will also begin to rewire the building to interface many of our new servers / we are all exhausted except Darkness – he told me this is only the beginning as there and the next phase would be to finalize the terms and conditions of the rental with the owner – the owner seems impressed; it is as though he has walked into a time machine and gone back to another age when he first built the building – he is requesting us to rehabilitate a 40 metric ton sign board that sits on top of this building – Darkness says he will do it for free but all rental will be ours (again they shook hands – this is a strange way to do business, but to these people, it seems almost normal) - this is premium space right in the heart of bukit bintang – it would be good if we could get the Singapore tourism board to consider renting it – I told Darkness, we could set up a pair of green eyes to advertize for night safari and leave a mark of Singapore here – he smiled and told me, “that we have already done that; the trick is to allow the Malaysians to believe they were the ones who did it.” He keeps telling me this is a diplomatic mission at many levels as he believes, “Mahatir has psychoed so many Malaysians we are a bunch of greedy folk.” This mentality must be stamped out not by politicians, but by ordinary folk.

I am the youngest in this mission; I don’t know what he meant by that, but there was glimmer in his eyes when he stared as the sun began to peak over the forest of highrises in KL – “it was another beautiful day.”

Part II – the rubber band brigade

Today will be a very interesting day for me - our climbing team will be meeting up with the “rubber band” brigade for the very first time - we have never ever seen them before in the flesh as all of them are anon and they all seem to be very shy - to cut a long story short, one reason why they are called the rubber band brigade is whenever Darknesss runs into technical problems – he will usually go to their forum and discuss stuff with this group of boffins  and they seem to be able to get stuff done with lots of rubber band, super glue and duct tape – they are the make do people who the brotherhood usually go too when we run into technical difficulties – one thing about the brotherhood is its a very big network where someone knows someone and it’s a linkage not so different from a spider web – it just goes on and on, something like a village where there are people who have skill sets in every conceivable field of expertise that if used rightly can produce extraordinary results -  from what little I know, they are all geeks who like to tinker with stuff in their spare time, most of it the built in garages, sheds and rooms where clothes go to die.

The rubber brigade will be responsible for mapping the entire structure of the building – we need a 3D engineering perspective to map out every inch of the structure  before injecting our magic foam concrete into strengthen the structure – a robot has already been constructed mounted with specialized sensors this will be used for the main task of surveying the clading - the best thing about it is, it uses a black and decker commercial suction to cling to the surface so it can be remotely controlled and can scale up walls like spider man (though it drops sometimes, I am told – so we tie it off with a cable) - generally how it works is not so different from world war 2 radar / it sends out a ping at regular intervals and then registers the resonance;  this runs through a program and eventually we will be able to build up an X-ray image of what is actually inside structurally – something like a sonar used to detect fishes or X-ray - though the robot is a toy; many of the sensors are hand built and the project was funded entirely by the guilds at an exorbitant cost.

So far the rubber brigade has tested it only on industrial chimney stacks in the US / galvanize steel / if it looks like a toy that’s because most of the components come from some place where remote control stuff go and die – so it was put together cheapy cheap – but it is operated by a joy stick and there is even a remote link that relays images to a laptop.

This new tool will save us alot of leg work and it is very unlikely that we need to climb out ever again (phew!) as the robot will be able to do most of the tedious work of X-raying the cladding and giving us all a very accurate impression of the condition of the building – I asked Darkness why the rubber brigade were willing to finally show their face and come out into the open this time – he just said to me, if you create the right conditions which pique the interest of people and package the proposition as irrestible then dont be surprise if even shy thinking folk will simply say that its not worth hiding behind some moniker – they will eventually come out from their shells – the trick is to never to force people to do something that they may not want to do by insinuating they may suffer for some character flaw because they prefer to cling to their anon status – what must be understood is folk remain anonymous for a million and one reasons ranging from bad skin, BO to simple things like they just dont feel comfortable coming out into the open as they value their privacy (real or imagined) - if its important to them, then a good place to start is to send out a clear message, that is important to us as well - every relationship needs to be built on trust, respect and mutual dignity;  some things in life you make it happen with the hammer - other things just happens by itself  when reason and season intercepts - this is the latter- as most intelligent folk know some things in life require face to face interaction / there are limits discussing serious stuff in second life dressed as some alien - the trick is to make it so irrrestible and it is not so different from wooing someone you love.

Darkness went on to say, if the Singapore Government spent 1/1,000 of its energy pursuing this one strategy alone; online anonymity would be mere commentary and all Vivian’s problems will disappear very quickly - but instead all they seem to do is scold people,  talk down to them, threaten them, cut off the electric supply, call them funny names and pigeon hole them as freaks and give bandwidth to windbags like Yawning Bread (who has as much brain as a pin head – result: most people these days dont see the internet as the great hope, its a wasteland), is it such a wonder they’re going nowhere and Singapore has the highest anon rate in the internet on this planet -  they have no one to blame but themselves as what they are ineffect doing is reinforcing failure on the scale of the pyramids - he went on to say, these people are brainless and have no imagination that is why they can never harvest the latent talent in the internet; all they can really do is play bla bla bla black sheep like Philip Yeo or like Cheong Yip Seng insist that the world must be flat - now you know why all these clowns  are chasing their own tails and going in big and small circles - and when you do that on an institutional scale, then you have to be a grand fool as it demonstrates you have no idea how to manage yourself and others effectively in the age of the internet.

Coming back to the robot – like I said, it looks dorky.  But I am looking forward to getting to grips with it / We found recently, the rubber band brigade happens to be a co-ed team with only one guy - we will be dealing girls. Today most of us have started to clean up the upper floor and even do our laundry for the first time (fortunately someone brought alone some after shave) and put on some office clothes to give them all a good first impression – Darkness bought a boquet of plastic flowers – I told him that may come across as tacky and cheap; he replied curtly, that’s why we have decided you will be the one presenting this gift to them. 

The rest laughed. I didnt find that funny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work site report by safety officer Harphoon.

‘I curse the day I was born a Singaporean’

By Olinda Brazil from Malaysiakini

It is very amusing to see how Malaysians (probably of the minority races) have spasms of ecstasy when referring to Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in Malaysian forums. From across the border in Malaysia, Singapore seems like Wonderland and LKY like a benevolent god.

As a Chinese Singaporean, born of Malaysian parents who took up citizenship here in Singapore, I can understand why they feel this way. The grouses are familiar: NEP, corruption and ineptitude in governance.

Let me provide an insight on how it is like to be a Singaporean. I must first stress that new immigrants or Permanent Residents (PRs) from Malaysia (like my parents) will not experience any disadvantages. It is the children of these people (like me) or new PRs’ children (who will be Singaporean) who will feel the disadvantages most sorely, and curse the fact they were born in Singapore:

On the relative development of both countries – Singpore developed well largely due to early good advice given to LKY, its strategic position, the lack of natural disasters and its easily-governable size.  Malaysia lags behind in spite of its natural resources because of its larger size, poorer planning/ execution, more difficult decision-making and corruption.

However, Singapore has problems at present because its development model is outdated. As LKY still insists on the methods recommended tens of years ago, trouble is looming. There is no impetus to change because there is no one  who dares to disagree. The media prints only propaganda, the courts will always find the government blameless as the government runs 70% of the economy.

The opposition has been persecuted to the point where only those with nothing to lose will dare to oppose, and the common people are scared to death of arbitrary arrest.

Yes, corruption is more widespread in Malaysia. But in Singapore, it also exists – though restricted to the top political elite and in a legalised form. In Malaysia, many get a share of the cake but in Singapore, only a select  few get a share of the cake.

Many scoff at the position of the Malay rulers. But are they aware of the many dubious acts of LKY and his cronies – his ‘cooperation’ with the wartime Japanese, then the Communists and then the British (he betrayed the latter two in the end)?  

And the actions taken by him and his courts to destroy the opposition, moves which are reported in a twisted manner by his press? A shining example of good character?

Yes, up till recently, Singapore was performing excellently. But at the same time, the ordinary people had the fruits of their labour taken away. We seem rich but yet are in debt. The government apartments are now exorbitantly priced. Cars are a necessity (given the poor performance of the profit-oriented public transport companies) but are also exorbitantly priced.  

Much of our money is locked in the Provident Fund and it is becoming impossible to get it back while we are still alive. Yes, all races are treated equally – and they are sucked dry equally. This is the pivotal point in times when things became bad.  By the way, the money in the Provident Fund (as well as in the reserves) is used for investment – for which there is almost no transparency and accountability.  

Huge losses have been incurred in the current crisis yet the ruling party still baulks at spending a million or two on the poor. Oh, and we spend twice as much on defence as Malaysia despite being at least 400 times smaller.

Instead of addressing the root of the problems, LKY’s son (yes, his son – by the way did Dr Mahathir install his son as prime minister?) decided to take action on only one aspect of the problem, in a negative manner. Instead of lowering costs for citizens, and therefore maintaining wage levels, he decided to import foreigners to lower cost.  

It is effective – foreigners earn much more per hour than they do back home. They are stuck with the same employer for the duration of  their visa, hence they are obedient.  If they are sacked, they have to go home. And home means facing unpaid debts which they incurred in getting to Singapore. So which foreign worker will dare to resist exploitation?  

This  means the ‘choosy’ Singaporeans get to twiddle thumbs at home. And would the Singaporean ministers care?  They are paid $S$2 million basic per year, a performance bonus of up to eight months, and get a pension when they reach retirement age. Good clean governance, huh? Oh yes, the judges are paid the same too so not surprisingly they always find for the government.

Malaysians are LKY’s top choice. It gratifies him to poach bright minority students which his old pal Dr Mahathir had educated. They get good jobs (there is supposedly a quota to be filled), will not get sacked (as it means they go  back to Dr M) and are favoured by corporations, as they do not have national service obligations.  

None want to be citizens – at the end of the day, they will retire to the Malaysia (which they hate so much) to enjoy the Singapore dollar’s strength. God have mercy on the children they leave behind!  
Currently one person in three is a  foreigner in Singapore. The press chooses to obfuscate matters by lumping citizens and PRs together in their reporting (as ‘resident population’) so the huge number of foreigners in Singapore is understated.

To all Malaysians who love LKY, you have to be ruled by him, not as a PR turned citizen, but as a born and bred Singaporean, to understand that he is not what  you think.Y ou curse Dr Mahathir because you know LKY will treat you like lords. You are correct but very shortsighted and shallow.  

Dr Mahathir may be much less than perfect, but only ignorant fools will say LKY is better than him. Singapore residents receive two broadsheet pages daily on how bad things are in Malaysia, but no Singaporean commentator will blast LKY and compare him to Dr Mahathir.  

Why? Because it is stupid to compare – we have not been ruled by Dr Mahathir or Umno so how are we able to compare? Using anecdotal evidence supplied by privileged fellow countrymen is poor practice.

Source: Malaysiakini

Singapore seeks to manage political change

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

SINGAPORE, June 28 (Reuters) – Resourceful, but resource-scarce, Singapore has nimbly changed with the times in its first 50 years of self-governance.

But the global economic slowdown has thrown the trade-dependent city-state into its worst recession and issues from unemployment to huge losses at two sovereign wealth funds have set fresh challenges for the People’s Action Party (PAP), which marked a half-century in power this month.

Analysts say future risks include political change after the current generation of ageing leaders, possibly even from a split in the ruling party, and external threats such as conflict with neighbours and competition from cheaper manufacturing centres.

“It won’t be as stable and as unchangeable as people think,” said Roman Scott, who runs a private equity firm in Singapore. He is bullish on the country’s long-term prospects, but said terror attacks or political changes were the biggest risks.

“Even in Singapore, nothing lasts forever.”

Singapore is favoured as a base for its dependability, efficient bureaucracy and clean environment. Few investors expect shocks in a region where stability can quickly turn to chaos.

Read rest of article here

Will the property bubble ever burst?

By Eugene Yeo

In the past few weeks, I have been busy hunting around for an apartment for my family which partly explains why I am unable to post as frequently as before.

In spite of the economic slowdown, the property market shows no signs of cooling albeit a slight dip in the beginning of the year.

The prices have since rebounded to late 2007 level before the recession.

Here’s the asking prices of some recently TOP projects:

1. One Amber: $1,000 to $1,200 psf.

2. The Seaview: $1,050 to $1,200 psf.

3. The Calrose: $700 to $900 psf.

4. Bayou Residences: $650 to $800 psf.

5. City Square Residences: $950 to $1,200 psf.

6. One St Michael: $850 to $1,000 psf.

7. City Lights: $1,000 to $1,200 psf.

The most outrageous price I came across is a penthouse at The Calrose (over 2,000 sqft) asking for$1.35 million dollars!

It seems that homeowners are making use of the transient recovery in the property market to sell their units.

Given the falling rental and gloomy outlook for the rest of the year, it is highly unlikely that property prices will continue to rise.

Will Singapore experience another tumultuous crash in the property market akin to the 1990s?

A couple of years ago, only projects in the prime areas will fetch a price of beyond $1,000 psf.

Nowadays, prices have skyrocketed such that even projects in districts outside the city fringes are fetching prices close to or exceeding $1,000 psf.

The property market is probably popped up by rich foreigners and a robust HDB resale market.

At today’s prices, many young couples will be priced out of the market altogether and have to settle either for HDB units in remote areas or stay together with their parents till they have saved enough.

For the time-being, I am prepared to wait for the bubble to burst. The present prices are untenable in the long run.

We are in the midst of a recession. Foreigners are exiting the country. MNCs are closing shop or reducing their scales of operation. Salaries remain stagnant. Rental yields are dropping. How long more can the prices go up?

For those of you who are not in a rush to purchase a property, hold on first and wait for the prices to dip. It is only a matter of time.

As a side note, I would like to thank readers for their concerns over the lack of activity on this blog for the last few weeks.

If you do remember, I did post an article in May that I will be unable to update this site as often as I can due to work and personal reasons.

Politics has never been my forte. While I do hold some strong views about the establishment, I never harbor the ambition to challenge the status quo.

Of late, certain events have convinced me even more that there are more meaningful and urgent matters in life deserving of my attention which I will blog about later.

In the meantime, I wish all of you happiness, good health and success in life.

It is time to bury Singaporean social Darwinism – a study in crafting a new thoughtware to thrive in an age of uncertainty

Written by Darkness of the Brotherhood – As we preview the carnage of the global economic meltdown – and even asses how well or badly we as a nation & people may have faired against the maelstrom – this prompts us all to ask: do we need to change the way we think if we want to remain on the top of the heap? To paraphrase what does it take to succeed in an age where the only thing that is certain is uncertainty?

Unbeknown to many (who may well be oblivious to these transformational changes) we are already barreling inexorably into the unknown like a stone dropped into the abyss of a well – the age that can only be described as “golden spanner” – where things never seem to pan out the way it should; stock markets no longer abide to linear economics; even seemingly “good” plans seem to offer no guarantees – against this dystopian landscape a sporadic strain of virus could just as well throw the whole world out of synch; the sudden collapse of a bank may even render many right back to square one – my point is all these events brings home one startling reality; like it or not we may already be living in a very different world.

I know this only too well. Everyday, I peruse through the carnage; indolent Americans and Europeans no longer buy our exotic metals in the virtual; it’s hard to sell to space stations even with revolving loans these days and the litany of shattered dream goes on and on – it’s depressing.

In a nut, the world these days; politically, economically, socially and technologically is a very different place from what it used to be – the mantra seems Shakespearean even: “we plan our lives only to be ruled by accidents…”

Yes, I know there may be some empty barrels out there who will continue to insist the prescription to our times may lie somewhere in the trite line of ensuring: we must insist upon the crumbly idea some savior may be found in only ensuring those who have knowledge, vision and character continue to hold on to the levers of power, if we are to see light at the end of this tunnel – as if is ONLY these Brahmins who have the ability to craft a new vision to ensure Singapore grows from strength to strength – but I don’t buy into such populist claptrap; not even for one moment.

It would appear what we need to do is to learn new stuff to survive; but I don’t consider that as important as being able to unlearn many of the scripting that has been programmed into our heads since birth – I am not saying all of these motifs that are floating in our heads are bad; but I do question the whole idea of chasing pragmatism an injecting into everything from policies to profiling economic plans, as if it’s Penicillin that can cure so many of our ills; taking the word pragmatism beyond its dictionary meaning may have worked before; but I remain sceptical whether that alone these days is enough to solve many of the emerging challenges that will wash up on our shores.

These days it is not enough to think critically; even Pastun gunsmiths somewhere where gun shots regularly rent out in Pakistan have begun to replace the cumbersome firing pin of the AK-47 with only 2 moving parts instead of 4 – what is required in this new age to deal with new problems is a new way of thinking -one where we may even have to be comfortable with lateral thinking.

Here I ask myself how did we get ourselves in this shit hole? What accounts for the veneration of the gilded hamster wheel? How did this whole idea of chasing ceaseless competition assume primacy?– can education be the tap root? To the perceptive reader; I am using the word “education” in its profound sense – a dog can be trained to heel, stand and come on command, but that hardly equates to the type of transformational change I am referring too – real education must be appropriate within it cannot be learnt.  

I am merely scratching the surface – but if we peel off the veneer; we could just as well ask do we even have institutions of higher learning that is capable of producing movers and mobilizers who may be able to add real value to this whole of the goody good machine?

Stretch it further and you might even raise a host of uncomfortable questions whether our child like faith in the scholar program is really abasement on a mechanized scale or does it offer real intellectual salvation that can produce real thinkers who can add to the good benchmark – stretch it till the sinews turn white and you may even ask whether this grand Pharoahic vision of Philip Yeo and his quaint tankhood metaphor of “whales and guppies” offers or detracts?

Here I will stop (as he has a habit of naming and shaming people that seem to disagree with him), but you get my general drift: we are stuck on one gear; we need to relook at the whole idea of the goody good machine from the inside out – very much in a way Japanese camera manufacturers used to strip down German Leica camera and reverse engineer many of those stuff that separates mediocrity from something that stands out as iconic and timeless.

In other words. We need to desperately refocus, re-engineer and even restructure the whole way in which we have traditionally defined individual and organizational success.

But before diving into the solution where did it all fuck up? – that’s to say before we even begin to rebuilt and re-engineered; we need to ask ourselves – where did we go wrong? Here some many may still contend like, if it ain’t broken then don’t mess with it – it would make sense if only it didn’t sound so much like the string quartered that once played on the deck of the Titanic just before it sank – as we survey the prospects of the next 5 years and wonder why our dream has suddenly been transformed overnight into a mirage shimmering over the desert waste of the current economic crisis – the facts remain undeniable: we may have ridden out this storm; but many of our compartments are flooded and the ship is listing – that’s hardly a sterling record and so the question remains: how do we fix it?

When we square off the accounts let us be clear: the human raw material in Singapore is as fine as can be found anywhere in this planet – we are second to none in “intelligence” and the spirit of dedicating ourselves to the whole idea of ceaseless competition – but all I am saying is – this is no longer enough – if I had to finger the root cause for this sordid state of affairs – I remain mindful economic recession may on A4 paper only offer a disquieting account; but what’s even infinitely worse is the moral and spiritual recession it wrecks on my fellow human beings – I don’t need a psychologist to tell me how unemployment can scissor through families; all I need to do is look at my neighbor and compare how he used to be and what he is today since he lost his job in January.

That’s what happens when the goody good machine splutters; it manifest itself in many ways; most of it unseen, unrecorded and it all occurs underground – on the surface everything looks hunky dory; but deep down it’s riven with decay.

If I had to account for one reason why we are in a fix; it must have something to do with our preoccupation with social Darwinism  aka law of the jungle, namely the law that accounts for the survival of the fittess.

In a nub the logic goes something like this in tadpole language;

“What doesn’t kill you, will eventually make you stronger.”

Policy makers are the worst culprits for peddling the snake oil of social Darwinism, they regularly tell us welfare turns our back bone into jelly; if we don’t earmark the capable as scholars then the whole edifice may even come crashing down, it’s no good. Instead the reverse the whole logic of how corrosive social Darwinism really is by glossing over it with platitudes that would probably provoke Darwin himself to turn in his grave; politicians tell us no end; winging it on your own inures you with added resilience; we will emerge stronger (even when droves find themselves emptying out their cubicles); worst they tell us all; if we depend too much on the government; it breeds a crutch mentality and eventually our resolve may even melt away like camphor.

Granted all this talk about survival of the fittest seems innocuous enough. Even sensible and worst of all believable – besides who can only possibly deny what doesn’t kill you may perhaps even make you stronger. The danger of course is when the idea of social Darwinism is taken too far; it is transformed into a form of tyranny where it becomes even possible to technically legitimatize the whole idea – will power alone can conquer all – I don’t believe in that claptrap; you see, I’ve climbed at least a 15 mountains and sometimes things do go wrong (I am not talking about the escalator type climbs to Everest where there are even Zebra crossings and all you really do is follow a mountain guide like a sheep to plant a plastic flag) – I am talking about the real stuff where all you’re got no other choice but to take out your Swiss knife to cut yourself off from someone that you know; if you don’t do it; he will imperil the rest or the type where you break a leg at the upper reaches of 16,000 feet – when those times occur; I just shout for help – the plain truth is simply this some things will kill you; they don’t make you stronger anymore than you can wrestle with a 150 metric ton freight train – you die and that’s the end of it.

That’s one reason why I remain critical of social Darwinism when its used to justify everything from perpetual tuition to the whole idea of just winnow a few and giving them the choices cut and leaving the rest to fend for themselves; the whole idea of the survival of the fittest makes licit tyranny – it must be pursued in moderation – if we are not mindful of how social Darwinism permeates policies, decisions and even something as how to teach ordinary folk how to wisely manage their finances – then it’s magically transformed into an ideology, not so different from Juche or some form of “ism.” When that day comes the whole idea of goody good machine becomes inane; and with it, it can only produce a form of insanity.

As when only the strongest survive and the weak have no choice but to perish; then it could be said we have ceased entirely to be human beings where dignity and decency are reduced to mere frescoes that can do nothing except paint frivolous pictures of the happy life; without the content and only the hollow form; we may even begin to pursue the whole idea of building a brain on a Byzantine scale like Philip Yeo – and what may I ask did we get out of it? Or worst still a juggernaut like Temasek that is so big that if you hammered its tail, it would probably take a months before it registered somewhere in the labyrinth called the brain – pain.

Here we need to be mindful – social Darwinism just like turpentine; is a solvent that can gel with practically any idea ranging from economic policies to something as innocuous as how to get people back into the work force; it’s scope I will leave to your imagination – let us say, I know this only to well.

But where Darwinian logic becomes poisonous is when it leeches into government itself; here the result is often what we see in failed states; dysfunctional firms and even broken families; too much government and too little administration; to many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little imagination to fathom possibilities; too many laws and too little justice and people for government; instead of government for people.

And the pithy summary just goes on and on – really, I can’t think of a better way to drive off a cliff.

You have all been warned – your greatest enemy is not out there; it right there lurking somewhere in your head.

Darkness 2009

The Brotherhood Press 2009

This essay has been funded by the Thai Royal Creche – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK2Mn-XgHjA&feature=related

“My regards and felicitations to the lady of the lake” Darkness 2009

 

A Message to all guildsmen,

 

I have successfully negotiated a deal in Kuala Lumpur to re-site our new server farm in KL / the building is located in heart of Bukit Bintang / the rent is super duper cheap, but it comes with one condition – we need to first rehabilitate the building if we are to get this special deal as there are serious structural problems with the aluminum cladding (the owner is convinced it will collapse and he doesn’t have the finances to hire a professionals to augment these structural faults) – I have done an initial TOR assessment of the work, it requires extensive work, my feel is it is a good deal – to cut a long story, we shook hands and its good to go. The owner is a honorable man besides the son happens to be one of us – so he can be trusted.

 

Gentlemen this is a strictly volunteer mission – the guilds and the confederation of gamers will bear ALL the cost and I will be experimenting with a new polymer that I have invented to strengthen the building by at least 600% / I have not given this new substance a name, but basically the task involves rappelling outside the building, drilling holes at specific intervals and injecting this substance into the structure to augment many of the structural flaws – it basically like foam but when it cures, its like concrete only it weights significantly less (no one in Singapore wants to use it as they think it is some industrial mumbo jumbo, so I do not mind telling you all that I am also using this as an opportunity to test out this new foam concrete.)

 

I need a team of at least 6 very experienced alpinist climbers / I DO NOT NEED SHOW OFF’s AND RISK TAKERS / so on this mission I will prefer to deal with ONLY those who have families. As experience tells me ONLY these category of individuals are mature enough to manage risk without imperiling the rest of us. This should not be a problem as the guilds have many climbers of this sort.

 

The requirements (TOR) are as follows:

 

-   5 years experience in alpine climbing – minimum 7 climbs unguided / guided climbers are not eligible (I do not care if you have even climbed Everest – we need people who can work independently with minimum supervision and if they are in trouble, they can remain cool and work out a solution to keep it safe for themselves and others - so you are disqualified / proficiency in abseiling is essential using static rope (no dynamic rope will be used – so please, if you are a weekend warrior, do us all a favor, just give this a miss and do yourself and everyone else a favor – no offence intended).

-    3 skill sets are required: controlled descent / ascent / emergency rescue (hopefully, this will not be required) the main equipment required is as follows: Juma / daisy rope / Petzl stop / mini traxion and tyrollean tranverse / figure 8 / THERE ARE NO ANCHOR POINTS – so we are likely to use cams and only ballast we would need to figure out a way to manage the risk on what is available on site.

-   Engineering experience is preferred but not necessary. Work detail will be issued by Harphoon – I know some of you think he is young and inexperienced, but please set aside your ego and lets respect the rank and keep it strictly professional – he will be my No.2 that is final.

-  Living conditions will be spartan / no air-con / no room even / please bring a foldable bed as we will be living and working on site itself on top of the building  / that will be where will eat, shit and sleep / that is as good as it gets (bring also plenty of sun block as it will be very hot and please bring lots of rechargeable batteries as it will be a rotating shift)

-   As usual there will be strictly NO sharing of equipment / I expect every man to manage his own kit / except perhaps the rappel rope – it is sized at 11.5 / the plan is to work in pairs / I expect it to be hard work, so I would prefer to deal with people who talk less and can get the job done without too much fuss.

-   Pls note the structure is glass and steel / there are no hold points / no where to even rest your feet – so fitness is essential / I strongly recommend an industrial harness with at least one rescue piton – a rescue team will rappel down in the event of any complications, if you get snagged or get your lines entwined (though again, I don’t expect that to happen.)

 

WARNING: I do NOT want to see to any strange equipment that we all have not worked with before / every single time, we go for a climb some idiot will bring along some piece of hardware that no one knows how to operate and it is so complicated that we all need to read the manual before using / please check off the standard kit list with Astroboy (but please sign off on the book and do not disturb his granny if he is out, she is already senile and I have been getting alot of complains of people taking stuff out without signing the log book – remember what you take out, you are responsible for – if you break it, you buy a new one and replace it – it’s as simple as that!), I have listed them above – there is a big box underneath Astroboy’s bed and there is everything that we need there / if I see any funny gear it will be thrown into the dustbin – this is not a test bed for new stuff – if you want to do that go to SAFRA and they will oblige you.

 

This is also a diplomatic mission where we are ambassadors as a Malaysian team will be there to observe us / we have sold them a new Dimitri class space station – so training will be required – I expect alot of social interaction – three topics are barred from discussion: royalty, politics and religion / please note that the locale Bukit Bintang is now an Arabic enclave; we may also need a liaison officer to communicate our intentions as no one likes to see strangers hanging outside their windows – bear in mind BB is also a giant vagina where prostitutes ply their trade openly – our Malaysian counterparts will be observing us and I do not want any sexual fraternization of any sort (otherwise I will tell your wife’s. I will. Let me share with you why – many of our Malaysian counterparts will be observing us and we are there to built deep spirited trust – this can only come from having a moral consistency – if you cannot tahan, go to youtube, but don’t put me in a position where you shame us all.)

 

Keep it safe, clean and always remember we are ambassadors and if we do this well – we will leave people with a good impression that we are serious people who can be trusted to do big things.

 

As I said this is a strictly volunteer mission – the danger is 8/10 / remuneration for work done will be 50,000 Imperiums for each worker / we will work 12 hour rotation shift and it will be completed within 72 hours /

 

I will be the team leader and the first to go down to demo the SOP / Scholarboy will be XO and safety officer will be Harphoon / please report for fitness check with pumpman ASAP – we need to make sure you are fit for the job.

NB: piton has been calibrated at 70 kg ( FREE FALL – DYNAMIC ROPE / BEAL) - those exceeding this weight need not apply.

 

SAFETY FIRST

 

Darkness 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David family feels unfairly treated by Singapore court

The case of David Hartanto Wijaya, an Indonesian student who died at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in March, is entering a crucial stage, but the family continues to suspect an unfair process.

David’s family filed a request in April to the Singaporean coroner court to consider the case as a murder, challenging conclusions made by the NTU and Singaporean police that David had committed suicide.

Only if the coroner court finds it was not suicide will the case be forwarded to the criminal court.

However, David’s family has felt that they still received unequal treatment throughout the process.

The case has just entered the third phase of the court process, with more new witnesses to be presented by the NTU and the family.

Hartono Wijaya, David’s father, said the NTU had already presented 22 witnesses, with four more to be presented soon.

“But so far we were only given opportunities to present four witnesses, out of nine names we have submitted,” Hartono said on the telephone from Singapore.

“Our request that David’s laptop and digital hard disk be returned to the family was also denied. And we just found out that the judge never received the family’s request until today,” he said Wednesday after one of the court’s sessions.

Wednesday saw the coroner court receive testimonies from four witnesses brought forward by David’s family.

“One of them is his brother, the other three are his friends. But they are not eyewitnesses. They were all witnesses to David’s life as a brother, as a friend,” Hartono said.

The family had tried to find eyewitnesses from the university but everyone had remained tight-lipped, he said.

Hartono said the President of NTU Su Guan Ning had told the family that the university had a witness who saw David attempt to slit his wrist before he jumped from a building in the university.

“But when we asked to meet the person? The NTU rejected us.”

The NTU alleged David had attempted to kill Chan Kap Luk, David’s professor, just before David committed suicide.

Indonesian lawyer O. C. Kaligis, an advisor to the family, said the Singapore’s coroner court process turned out to analyze the possibility whether there had been a murder attempt on Professor Chan Kap Luk.

“What we see is that the court only focused on how David Hartanto Wijaya tried to murder the professor,” Kaligis said.

“From the start there has never been an analysis on the cause of David’s death.”

The pictures that show his deep wounds were never exhibited, said the lawyer who advocated the family pro bono.

Horrendously graphic pictures of David’s corpse showed he did not commit suicide. The pictures had been analyzed by Indonesian forensic experts Djaja Surya Atmadja and Evi Untoro, and they said any forensic doctor around the world would see from the forensic report that David’s body had defense wounds.

“It was absolutely not a suicide.”

Iwan Piliang, a blogger who has been accompanying the family since the beginning, said that they would bring forward two forensic experts from Indonesia who had analyzed David’s body from the Singaporean doctors’ forensic report and pictures of his body, “including a digital forensic expert who is the one and only expert in Indonesia.”

Source: The Jakarta Post

Sound bites

From Dr Mahathir’s blog

1. I read somewhere that the Singapre Parliament made up of 82 PAP (People’s Action Party) members and two opposition (made bankrupt by the Singapore Government) have just passed a new law which defines one person as an assembly. Before according to Singapore laws, 5 people would constitute an assembly and police could arrest them if they had not obtained permission to be together.

 

2. The new Public Order Act (POA) gives power to the police to tell even one person to move on because he has now been defined as an assembly.

 

3. It is explained that this POA is to prevent destabilising street protests seen in Thailand and terrorist attacks such as Mumbai.

Lee Kuan Yew’s Malaysia complex

By Josh Hong from Malaysiakini

More than a week after Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had visited Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad remains bitter. In his blog entry, the former prime minister ridicules the passage of a bill in the island state that defines one person as an assembly.

Mahathir’s intention is clear: hold Lee in high regard if you want to, but who between us is the more merciless despot?

I do not dispute the fact that Lee and his son Lee Hsien Loong govern Singapore with an iron fist, but it still does not justify the 22 years of autocratic rule by Mahathir.

The Lee dynasty has indeed subjected the entire republic to political tutelage, but at least it has succeeded in making the ‘little red dot’ a financial hub and among the most competitive economies in the world, and the rest of Southeast Asia can only watch with a jaundiced eye.

When Mahathir took over the prime ministership in 1981, Singapore was still a developing nation. Today, the average income of Singaporeans is four times that of Malaysians, while the ringgit, once at par with the Singapore dollar, continues to slide.

After Malaysia was finally founded in September 1963, the Tunku was pleased with the new racial equilibrium, and Lee saw the vast and resource-rich territories of Sabah and Sarawak as the springboard for his political ambitions.

In launching the ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ campaign, he was dropping hints that the country could one day be led by a non-Malay. Little wonder that the Tunku and his underlings were alarmed. Too bad, that Lee took the Tunku’s debonair character for granted and underestimated his rivals.

In relating the painful experience of Singapore being expelled from Malaysia in his memoirs, Lee used ‘Talak, Talak, Talak (I Divorce Thee)’ – the Islamic phrase used in divorce – as the title for the chapter. It sums up the shock and anguish that Lee felt at the time, while the abrupt end of the political union effectively severed Singapore’s ties with Sabah and Sarawak, something that Lee came to regret rather deeply.

Singapore’s expulsion being his biggest political setback, it is hence understandable that Lee continues to demonstrate complex feelings towards Malaysia.

The paramount leader is anxious to emphasise Singapore as a sovereign nation, yet he comments rather freely and enthusiastically on Malaysian politics whenever permissible, as if his country had never ceased to be a part of the federation.

Lee’s emotional detachment is clear for all to see even when he talks about China, but his temperaments immediately change whenever Malaysia is mentioned.

One should not be easily deceived by the ostensible differences between Singapore and Malaysia, for the ruling ideologies of the two governments converge more than they diverge. Politically, both the People’s Action Party (PAP) and Barisan Nasional subscribe to the instrumentalist argument that only a strong and stable government can ensure economic development and social harmony. In other words, they both see multiparty elections and genuine democratic participation as a unnecessary drain on public monies.

In their understanding, a formidable opposition has the potential to threaten national security and bring about social unrest. It is therefore intriguing to see Lee advise the Pakatan-ruled states to work more closely with the BN without commenting on the attempt by the federal authorities to frustrate those states in exercising their mandate to rule.

In terms of multiculturalism, the PAP and Umno are remarkably similar in their worldviews. They both seek to micromanage the languages and cultures of various communities, turning them into an ethnic ’boutique’ for international consumption. When one ethnic group presses for greater autonomy and steps over the boundary set by the state, it is chastised for ‘obstructing social unity’ in no time.

The only difference is that, under Lee’s rule, a once vibrant and bourgeoning Chinese education died a natural death, while Chinese schools in Malaysia have seen an amazing revival since the 1980s. Mahathir pales into insignificance when compared to Lee’s high-handedness in cracking down on ‘Chinese chauvinists’. That Lee had not requested to meet with the leading Chinese educationists during his eight-day stay was not a coincidence.

Given that Lee was even resolved to do away with Chinese schools, it was no surprise that the non-Chinese in Singapore were grudging stomaching the implementation of English as the first language. Here in Malaysia, Umno is seen as constantly advancing its ethno-nationalist agenda at the expense of others.

In other words, the social consensus in Singapore was that the non-Chinese were prepared to tolerate Chinese leadership so long as the state remained neutral in the issues of race, culture and language.

Things however began to change in the late 1970s and the 1980s when the PAP government launched the Speak Mandarin campaign and allowed more Chinese from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan to reside in Singapore.

Some of the PAP developmentalist views are questionable. When Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s minister of education, sighed at the lack of high-rise buildings in PAS-ruled Kota Bahru, it only laid bare his superficial infatuation with the tallest, biggest and longest, as well as his failure to make sense of Malaysia’s vastness in size and regional diversity.

Some describe Lee’s leadership style as ‘quality authoritarianism’, a unique synergy of democratic impotence and economic prowess that continues to amaze other autocracies such as China. I often wonder if Umno had succeeded in modeling on Lee’s authoritarian-capitalist regime and producing economic efficiency, would we have witnessed the rising support for the Pakatan today? And what fate would have befallen the vernacular schools?

Even Lee himself would be keen to have his political ideals fully accepted by Malaysia. Vindicated, the ex-Malaysian would be having the last laugh from beyond the grave.

Read full article on Malaysiakini

Lawyer Chia Ti Lik considering retirement from politics

From The Newsroom Team

Lawyer Chia Ti Lik, who stood as a Workers’ Party candidate in East Coast GRC during the last general election has expressed his desire to retire from politics.

Writing on his blog, Chia wrote that he was feeling “depressed” and drained by his work which was compounded by ongoing police investigations into his “role in the screening of One Nation under Lee” last year. (read full article here)

Chia wrote:

“I had decided that i wanted to disengage from it all. But it seems that they would not allow me to……The Police had framed a possible charge of me obstructing a public servant in the situation of the private movie screening some time last year. This charge carries a fine of S$2,500. If i am convicted of this charge i would be disqualified from running in elections”

Financial concern is another reason for him to sit out the next general election. He is due to “settle the division of matrimonial assets” from his divorce .

Chia also does not think that the opposition will stand a chance to secure a breakthrough as the ground has “not shifted”.

As a young, educated and somewhat charismatic professional, Chia will surely stand a good chance of winning in a single constituency ward.

Few Singaporeans are willing to join the opposition as the odds are heavily stacked against them during the polls.

The only two opposition MPs in Parliament both got elected only after a few attempts.

Given the virtual monopoly enjoyed by the ruling party and its tight-fisted control over the civil service, media and police, it is almost impossible for an alternative political party to emerge out of its shadow to challenge it.

An entire system has been put in place to ensure that the ruling party triumph at every election and to exclude any dissenting voices from Parliament.

While a Parliament dominated by one single party enables policies and bills to be passed smoothly without being blocked by the opposition, the government of the day is given a free rein to govern without being held accountable to the people.

Can we expect the ruling party to check on itself? Only a genuine, effective and formidable opposition will keep the government perpetually on its toes.

Singapore inherited the Westminister system of democracy from its colonial master, the United Kingdom.

For the last 50 years, the United Kingdom has seen frequent changes of government alternating between the Conservative and Labor Party. Yet, the ruling party in Singapore has won every single election since independence.

The recent “reforms” introduced by the Prime Minister to increase the number of NCMPs in Parliament in a double-edged sword for the opposition.

Though it guarantees at least 9 non-PAP MPs in Parliament, it may stymie the growth of the opposition as voters are less pressurized now to vote for the opposition since the “best performing losers” will be given a seat in Parliament as well.

An opposition MP without a constituency of his/her own will be unable to build a grassroots support base to further expand and grow the party.

Mr Chia is pessimistic about the opposition’s chances in the next election and rightly so.

The status quo is likely to be retained with minimal cosmetic changes. The same old people will still be in charge of the country. It is impossible to vote the incumbents out of office.

Unfortunately, what is good for the ruling party is not necessarily beneficial for the nation. Even the PAP acknowledges difficulties in recruiting capable candidates to join them.

An apathetic citizenry with little interest in the affairs of the country has no sense of belonging. They will not hesitate to take flight to greener pastures elsewhere if the conditions are right.

We need more Chia Ti Liks to join the opposition, but how many Singaporeans are willing to support them?

With the majority of the population caught up in the rat race, the few opposition leaders remaining in the political arena face a lonely and difficult road ahead.

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