Saturday, July 19, 2008

Time For A Ministerial Raise?

Or has the ministerial bungalow been over-filled with blood money?

More and more Singaporeans are feeling the pinch of inflation. While the price of everyday necessities like food and basic utilities and transportation has hurt many, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam still has the spunk to say, "Pay rises no cure for inflation"

I understand that the 3rd ministerial salary increase is due soon. With the current situation, the rulers may be scratching their heads wondering if they had painted themselves into a corner? They must be asking themselves:

  1. "Shall we go ahead with our new fat cheques and announce it?"

  2. "Shall we enrich ourselves quietly [keeping it away from msm ;)] and not upset the Singasuckers?"

    OR

  3. "Shall we finally start walking our talk of "Persatu Padu Bergerak Maju - Staying Together, Moving Ahead" and say,"Enough is enough! We do not need that much! We are sorry for being so greedy! We shall forgo the increase due to the bad job we've done lately! We are sorry for Inflation, sorry for Selamat jalan""
Being rulers, I doubt the answer they come up with will be any of the above. If fishfood is good enough to come up with a solution, feedmetothefish would have been a SingaElite rather than a SingaSuckered :)

Or am I dreaming?

They may just not give a 'f...ish' to what most Singaporeans and I think. They may just go ahead, press the "on" button of their money printing machine when their increment is due and say, "So what are you going to do about it, SingaSuckers? You have been "bought and fixed" and you shall continue to be B&F because you are too stupid to know of our control of the election boundaries and GRC's and you do not have the guts to change the status quo."

More than dream, many Singaporeans have hope that PAP has heart!

Hope springs eternal!

feedmetothefish

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Has wrong become right? Does corruption corrupt?

This may be old news but the Ren Ci/Shi Ming Yi alleged CBT case reminds me of what MM Lee Kuan Yew said in January this year of ex-President Suharto of Indonesia: "Yes, there was corruption. Yes, he gave favours to his family and his friends. But there was real growth and real progress. I think the people of Indonesia are lucky. They had a general in charge, had a team of competent administrators – including a very good team of economists to build up the country."

There was "real growth and real progress" in both NKF and Ren Ci! The "general in charge" and their "team of competent administrators' were at their best when it came to
milking money out of the public with their song and dance!

Breach of trust, criminal or not, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. The father-in-law of the Great-Grandma of my grand-daughter, yes, my Grandpa, taught me this when I was a kid:
"When you lose your wealth, you lose nothing;
When you lose your health, you lose something;
When you lose your integrity, you lose everything".

He taught me that if I lose my money, I can get it back through hard work and enterprise. If I lost my health (like my heart attack) it depends on how bad the health challenge is. However, if I lost my integrity, my trustworthiness, nobody would even touch me with a ten-foot pole. It's the beginning of the end!

It's been more than forty years since Grandpa passed on and it's more than fifty years that he passed me this gem that has been my guiding light. Does not make me rich but helps me build honest lasting relationships with many and makes me happy even after suffering a heart attack :)

What have I learned from NKF since Durai was judged guilty? What am I learning from Ren Ci where Ming Yi is now under the heat? Great-Grandma of my grand-daughter says, "Gian Lui, Gian Chay Wee, Hai See Kar Ki, Lor." roughly translated: "Greed for Money and Power/Position Hurts/Kills Oneself". Root of All Evils?

Going back to MM Lee who said of Suharto quoted from ChannelNewsAsia:
"I feel sad to see a very old friend with whom I had worked closely over the last 30 years, not really getting the honours that he deserves. He deserves recognition for what he did."

Honours and recognition? Let's read some from transform written by Indonesian Martin Manurong and MM Lee: Lucky Indonesians written by Choo Zheng Xi to know more.

Are we as lucky as Indonesians?

Or has the value of Integrity hit the pits and gone the way of the Dinosaurs?

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men."
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902)

feedmetothefish

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

What Come After MM?









I find the latest outburst from MM Lee Kwan Yew on IBA cute after this hullaballoo reported in Wall Street Journal.

IBA was Go(o)d to him when he brought it up to Chee Soon Juan in the defamation case. Now it seems IBA is the devil who would do Singapore in! IBA is jealous of Singapore because Singapore is a good example to Russia and China and the Russians and Chinese are coming here to learn from Singapore instead from the liberal West and IBA is jealous?

I don't get it.

I thought I was dumb so I ask my friends who's got multi degrees - honour, master, doctorate, what they thought. They also can't understand what MM is talking about!

The guy who came up with "Stop at 2" is now looking at Swedish method to have more than 2? What goes around really comes around! In answering the Japanese participant at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum, he said, 'If Japan wants to be part of this globalised world, Japan will have to accept these changes,' he said. 'There's no way you can remain...in a group where you can speak to each other not in words but in grunts.' Boy, Singaporeans are so luck that we speak in words!

The grandma of my grand daughter asked me when we gathered last Sunday, "If another PAP crony takes over Lee Hsien Loong's PM job, what would Lee Kwan Yew's new title be?" I was going like, "Well, then LHL will be Senior Minister; Goh Chok Tong will be Minister Mentor and Lee Kwan Yew will be Minister . . Hell? . . . . . . How would I know?"

When the chit-chat touched on the Lee family's control of Temasek and GIC and their Ah Long job in Europe and USA, GreatGrandma had this to say, " Gia lim bin eh kar-chng peh choh bin peh, mai ho how lian!" which literally means, "Don't show off if they have to take the skin of citizens' posteriors to act as the skin on their face!" which actually means, "There's nothing great in making use of public money as if it's Lee's own money."

Wow, I guess Ah Chor (Great Grand) in her 80's now knows much about politics in SinCity. She's been there, seen it and is telling it like it is!

feedmetothefish

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Stay Fit and Healthy! Walk/Jog in Black!


The comments on my previous post make me do it.

Reform Party is inaugurated!

Due to my respect to Mr J.B.Jeyaratnam for his "semangat" spirit and contribution to Singapore, from today and every Sunday (when weather permits) and Aug 9, I shall wear BLACK and jog/walk at MacRitchie Reservoir.

I'm not into politics and I'm not a member of any political party. I'm just sick and tired of being sick an tired.

My mum who is in her 80's would say, "Mai seow, ho pit kah kim siew cho luan say kai?" Translation as close as I can get: Why mess around with an animal (beast) to mess up your life (own world)? Oh, the great-grandmother of my grand-daughter was a fan of LKY until she found out about Chia Thye Poh & dynasty building and start calling him 'kim siew'.

My wife would tell me, "Darling, don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles you."

My children would tell me, "Dad, please, don't upset Mum."

My grand daughter doesn't know what's happening :)

My concerned siblings and friends would tell me, "Listen to Mr Brown, there's no broadband in prison" :)

Yes, I'm blessed with the love of a close ones. However, a man has got to do what he has to do when he's troubled.

Truth is: Wearing Black doesn't break any law and it's No Big Deal!

Unless they come up with a new Law.

My little effort may just be a little ripple of the beginning of the great ocean that's being created by JB's Reform Party and Chee Soon Juan's SDP.

If now now, when?
If not me, who?

If you are as crazy (like my mum said) as I am, come have fun in black in MacRitchie, every Sunday and National Day at 8am.

Stop bitching, start doing!

Cheers!

feedmetothefish

Alamak! Another Own Goal Scored!

I was reading the interesting written judgment of the acquittal of William Ding by Justice V. K. Rajah when the subject of "factual guilt" nearly threw me off my chair!

'It is not helpful...for suggestions to be subsequently raised about the accused's 'factual guilt' once he has been acquitted. To do so would be to undermine the court's finding of not guilty and would stand the presumption of innocence on its head, replacing it with an insidious and open-ended suspicion of guilt that an accused person would be hard-pressed ever to shed, even upon vindication in a court of law.' Justice V.K. Rajah

'As long as a reasonable doubt remains, the accused is entitled to be acquitted, even if the judge thinks that he is probably guilty. When reporting an acquittal, this nuance is often not appreciated... Prosecutorial decisions are not taken lightly. When cases turn on witness evidence, credibility, consistency and corroboration are key considerations.

'Remember that not being able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that A is guilty does not mean that he is innocent. He may be guilty in fact, but innocent in law because the evidence was not there.'
MR CHENG HOWE MING, spokesman for the Attorney-General's Chambers in a letter to the Forum Page, May 14



Is the government, through Attorney General's Chambers, treating judges like peasants too?

Has the whiter-than-white integrity of our judiciary, trumpeted ever so often by the government, come to pass? Or do we want only kangaroos to preside in our courts?

Since the government has made a mockery of nation building and national service by paying their ministers obscene salaries, is it time now to mock the public again by interfering with the justice system with a term like "actual guilt"?

Though little people in Singapore has been treated with contempt by the government, I'm amazed that judges are now treated like dirt too. So much for the integrity of court and judicial system in Singapore! So much for the decency of the government! Or is the AG Chambers not under the government just like Mas Selamat jalan had nothing to do with Wong Kan Seng?

Yes, being treated to incredible "sucks" like
is to be treated with contempt, to be treated like damned idiots being "fixed and bought"! Most people are bloody struggling with rising prices of everything and we are reminded of "golden period", "promising years", "our mother, sister, daughter working as maid". Sheesh, the only ones enjoying the golden period are the ones changing and writing the golden rules!

If William Ding is alleged to be "factually guilty", could J.B. Jeyaratnam, Francis Seow, Tang Liang Hong, Chee Soon Juan, Chee Siok Chin be "factually innocent"?

What about Chia Thye Poh (22 years in jail plus 9 years in severe restriction) who did not even have a judge passing sentence on him?

Who's Law is it anyway?

Your guess is as good as mine!

With Justice V. K. Rajah, there may be hope yet for Singapore!

SALUTE!

But thinking of Micheal Khoo, I have concern over the brightness of his future.

feedmetothefish.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Singapore Cracked Up!


I copied this cracked-up picture from the blog insanepoly and I think it shows how cracked up Singapore is!


The cracked-up picture of the rich & famous vs the down & out on top of his blog page describes clearly the GINI gap. The rich and the poor here has gone so far apart that the twain shall never meet, except for some photo op :)

It is a shame that nationhood has become a joke in my country, Singapore. National Day has become just another day of hype; of song and dance where shameless overpaid leaders show themselves in public in white to make themselves relevant in times when unthinking aunties and uncles thank their lucky stars to be given NDP Parade tickets and to pick up a goody bag or two. Just like bus loads of aunties and uncles were herded into buses to attend deserted election rallies and other PAP organised functions where nobody goes willingly. Or when Auntie of Uncle has got nothing better to do!

Before anyone slams me for running down aunties or uncles, I wish to declare that I'm an uncle too, in my late 50's. On this coming National Day, I declare that I'm proud, very proud of being a Singaporean. I'm just ashamed of the rulers and leaders who claim so much and do so little.

Their greed for money and their justification of their obscene salary increase is DAMNING!

Their sense of responsibilility and accountability leaves MUCH TO BE DESIRED!

The way they screw Singaporeans and mess with our CPF and our life-long debt to HDB is NAUSEATING!

The joke of HDB subsidy has gone too far for too long! It's MONOPOLY & PROFITEERING and nothing else! For it to last so long, It's simply CRAZY! And they are so proud that they can still make a song and dance of it! Market subsidy is a subsidy? WTF!

Their perpetual, "It's my way or the highway" attitude towards Singaporeans is hubris at its worse! The way they put the blame on everyone except themselves for the bad state we are in is FRUSTRATING! Just think Mas Selamat! Just think of the crowd and the smell you get when you are in the MRT or bus! Or when you pay for the new taxi fare or ERP :) FRUSTRATING is an understatement!

Their control of mainstream media has reached a stage of almost beyond redemption. The lack of reporting in the exchanges between Lee's and Chee's at Belinda's court and the continuous callous exposure of Tan Lead Shake's tragedy of a death and alleged murder in his family through it's reporters and forum writer lacks the rudiment of decency! It's INHUMAN! The fun comes when they run down our neighbours with sodomy and other corrupt/ion stories! Why can't our neighbours be as white? :)

The way they put the blame on price of OIL for our record breaking inflation is HUMILIATING! Just think GST, ERP and and their frigging SALARIES! Yup, we are paying more because they demand more! Sorry chum, "My way or the highway" or your sister, mother and daughter will be maids in other country" and" Singaporean are getting a bargain". Too bad, even the price of Hen and chickens have gone up!

The SWF or SPF which has become a hot potato is PUZZLING! Why so much reserve, so much surplus that is not helping the Singaporeans (the poor Singaporeans) at all? The only people who are having a good time with SWF are the rich elitists controlling the SWF! They decide where to park these hard-earned-money from Singaporeans ( through CPF & HDB, where else?) and put themselves on a pedestal and earn accolades. They even have the audacity to say that Sovereign Wealth Fund should be called Sovereign Poverty Fund. How apt! Yes, Singaporeans would be more cash-rich if not for the compulsory CPF and crazy HDB prices which end up bailing banks all over the world. And they are too cheap and poor to help Singaporeans on PUBLIC Assistance!!!

The 43rd National Day of Singapore is the day to mourn. To mourn the loss of nationhood and service to nation! National Service has become a JOKE! When I ask younger friends who are still in NS or reservist's training if they would defend Singapore, the asked, "How much? 10% of PM's pay can?"

Yes, it's sad. It's very sad that the Singapore which I served as a NSman way back in 1969-1971 followed by RT and converted to CDF later is no longer the nation that used to be. It's just another hotel; another Inc where only money matters. Where only productivity and money talk! Where if you are over the hill, in health; in connection (with the ruling Club, who else?) or just plain not in the inner circle, you are doomed to picking aluminium cans, empty cartons or depending on your lovely children whom you try so hard not to burden.

The sad fact is the hassle of getting the $330 public assistance may just throw the dignity off some that some prefer to jump onto the MRT track!

National Day in Singapore is not a day to celebrate.

It's a day to reflect on what they have they done to our country!

No, I'm not bitter. I just sad :(

As sad as my feelings for those most close to me when I had my last heart attack and came back from the dead.

As sad as some who have very sick or dying member in their family.

To everyone, even the high and mighty, a little rain must fall.

Maybe it's the time for them to visit the HOUSE of HUMILITY and realise that there are Singaporeans out there! Real Singaporeans who are not paid millions but real peanuts, struggling to seek their own happiness with the little that they have after paying (if they earn enough for a pigeon hole in the air) for their CPF and the HDB flat!

As much as it would be nice, we don't need their sympathy, we don't need their empathy.

We just need a little justice and equality as stated in our National Pledge!


feedmetothefish

Friday, July 4, 2008

Tolong! Please Do Not Bring Mohammed Hassan To Singapore

I read about the "S'porean a bomb-maker linked to Mas Selamat".

I also read about "Nabbed S'porean suspect a 'deputy' of Mas Selamat".


Whatever happens, please I repeat, please do not bring Mohammed Hasan home to Singapore. Let him be and let him stay in Indonesia.

Let's eat the humble pie for once and let the experts in Indonesia do what they are good at. Let's face it. The Indonesians are good at capturing. We are good at letting prisoners escape! Let's not have a repeat broadcast of the Mas Selamat saga. The kind Indonesians caught Mas (Gold) and give him to Wong Kang Seng on a silver platter. Then . . . the magic . . . the escape!


I strongly urge our rulers to please forgo the one-upmanship of demanding the extradition of the alleged bomb-maker, Mohammed Hasan. Though I'm not too crazy about him, I do not wish to have the pie thrown at Wong Kan Seng's face again. Especially when he keeps throwing it at himself! So please, save everybody the embarrassment and don't "kay kiang". Can? Please?

SODOMY OR DEFAMATION?









I'm surprised by the generosity of Straits Times' spread on the Anwar/Najib affair these few days. The juicy pages dedicated to the politics up north are as good and plenty as the caring, feel-good news we
get like GST Rebates, WorkFare, Youth Olympics and other wool-over-the-eyes goodies which our print media love to bring to the attention of its readers.

Why did we not get as much coverage when Chee siblings were battling it out in court with the Lees on the damages on the defamation case? Why were the exciting exchanges that took place in court not published for the benefits of the readers compared to the arrows flying between Anwar and Najib?

Or is sodomy more interesting than defamation? Or is the grass so much juicier in the north that their politics deserve more pages of ST than our local politics? I do not know.

All I know is, when it comes to screwing the opposition, what sodomy is to Malaysia is defamation to Singapore . Or are they the same? The feeling of anguish, helplessness, hopelessness and agony of injustice?

The site here at tangtalk by Mr Tang Liang Hong will remind us of what he went through.







feedmetothefish