Saturday, October 25, 2008

He Gets No Respect!

I saw this talk of Assortative Sex on TOC video

Instead of being angry and feeling insulted because I'm just an 'O' level boy, great-grandma of my grand-daughter advises me to laugh it off. I did and I was reminded of one of my favourite comedians, Rodney Dangerfield.




Rodney brought laughter to many with his self-deprecating "I got no respect" jokes. He passed on in 2004 and his obituary is here


Unlike Rodney Dangerfield who always joked about not getting any respect, the other old man who seems so full of himself has no respect for others.

I'm not sure if his parents were graduates. If they were, I guess he would be smart enough to know that if there's nothing nice to say about anyone especially non-graduates, it's best to just Shut-The-F^^k-Up!

If the comments at http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/mm-lee-on-assortative-mating/#comments is an indication of how people (grads and non-grads) feel about this "awful truth", I guess there's hope yet for Singapore!

feedmetothefish

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Goodbye Gracious, Goodbye Courtesy!


I was watching TOC TV showing Low Thia Kiang's speech in parliament for not supporting the Elected Presidency. When the video hit somewhere around 1:12 to 1:16, I realized why it is so difficult for Singapore to be a gracious society. If our courtesy campaigns of so many decades cannot teach people to be polite enough to listen to others (or at least behave appropriately), I think the current "gracious clearing table after you eat" campaign is another waste of time and effort.

In any function, it is common courtesy to pay attention to speaker who speaks. Even if you have no respect for the speaker, you will not embarrass yourself by having another conversation or private joke with someone sitting beside you. Or is our stately parliament where laws are passed a less serious venue? Do they have a code of conduct for proper behaviour or do they have one which I'm not aware of? In the first place, do they even switch their mobile phones to silent mode when parliament is in session?

Our msm and politicians often berate and demean the parliament of Taiwan and other countries for their members' boisterous behaviour. The magic moment of 1:12 of the parliamentary video shows we are not much different after all. In a subtle way, does the magic moment of 1:12 show bad behaviour or even contempt of our ministers towards others?

I'm not surprise if children who see such 'magic moment' in CNA will do the same. No wonder teachers today are having such a hard time getting the attetion of their students in the classrooms. What happened to the good old days when we were severely disciplined by being caned when we did not pay attention to our teacher in class.

It is a crying shame that highly paid leaders of this country behave such.

They don't even have the basic rudiments of good manners.

So sad.

feedmetothefish

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Frightfully Funny!


Below is extracted from Insanepoly's blog on " The Age of Greed" which I hope those who missed will read it.

"The “leaders” of this country have but one goal- that is to increase the national reserves and if we the people have to pay through the nose, with our blood and sweat, so be it. Nobody fucking knows, what the fuck the reserves is for, who is for or even how much we have. Instead, the mythical answer is given- it’s for the day when Singapore needs it.

How bailing out failing foreign banks can be equated to Singapore needing it is never fully or adequately explained. Instead we are suppose to trust in their fucking wisdom.

F.U.C.K. T.H.EM.

Nothing they have done have convinces me they work for the welfare and interest of this country.

No.

The are just greedy fuckers. And in the age of greed, it will be the greediest of the greedy that will rule. And so rule they will- much to the detriment of all."

--------

Spot on! If only I can write like Insanepoly does!

The language used is pretty strong but I think Insanepoly does speak for most of us.

Apart from the financial crisis, things are getting frightfully funny in sunny Singapore.

I have not gotten over the "makes you cringe" video of Lim Swee Say's ”The best part is, yah, I know the CPF money won’t run away. CPF will still be around, ah, hopefully, for a long long time to come, not hopefully lah, for sure lah, for long long time to come, you know.” and now I'm hit by more Abbot and Costello moments, or if you prefer, Seinfeld moments.

Wow! The Public Transport Council has fined SBS Transit S$9,300 and SMRT Buses S$1,000 for lapses in service standards in the six months from December 2007 to May 2008

Wow again! Where SBS and SMRT are concerned, the fine is just fine! The jokes just get better! If only Gerard Ee were Belinda Ang, the damages to the transport providers might have been much more painful. Then again, it may be a blessing in disguise as the money to pay the fine may ultimately come from poor peasants like us through another transport hike!

Talking about money, (even if you do not own mini bonds, high notes, unit trusts or shares but, merely trying to make your pay meet the end of the month) we are all going to lose some. The A-G is going to spend taxpayers' money to charge 3 guys for contempt of court because they wore t-shirts showing kangaroos in judges' gowns. We allow Lim Swee Say to get away with this, we let Mas Selamat 'jalan', but the law cannot lighten up on 3 guys who felt strong enough to wear honesty on their chest. If only the law listened with a fair heart the proceedings that took place!

But who's law is it, anyway?

If that's not enough, the cost of sleeping on a park bench is as expensive a in a 5* hotel! (if you consider the time spent on the bench - 2o minutes vs 1 night stay) Mr Kassim told TNP, 'I think most people don't know this. I'm the unlucky one, so I want to tell people not to sleep in parks, or they may end up like me having to pay $200,' he said with a laugh.

If only the law can lighten up and laugh like Mr Kassim, Singapore may be a better place.

Pardon my weird thoughts on the 'roos joke. Was it because they could not arrest all the people who attended Mr J.B. Jeyaratnam's funeral wake and sang the national anthem at his funeral that they had to get the 3 to prove a point. Are they trying to scare the shit out out of Singaporeans by letting them know that, "Hey, you think you're funny? Don't mess with me! Don't mess with my Boss! Let's see how funny you can be with a contempt of court charge on your head now"

In 'Uniquely Singapore', I won't be surprised if they come up next with a new law to ban singing of national anthem at funeral. The charge could be contempt or defamation of country, treason, treachery or whatever. Not sodomy, I hope.

Power and money don't buy respect. In fact, they usually corrupt. Respect needs to be earned. It comes with courage, integrity, truth, honesty, good deeds and humility! The passing of Mr J.B. Jeyaratnam (who was made so financially poor) is proof of the above.

With the cute picture which appeared on ST of Oct 19 above, the best is yet to come. With so much tender sensitivities (especially A-G on 'roos), will DBS sue ST next for defamation? A repeat like ST vs NKF?

It'll be hilariously, fightfully funneee indeed!

Are you having the time of your life with the 'golden period' yet?

feedmetothefish

Monday, October 13, 2008

Ripley's Believe it or not?

Imagine a million dollar Minister in the PM's Office and a Union Chief to boot saying:

"Every month, when I receive my CPF statement, I feel so rich and the best part is, I know the CPF money won’t run away. CPF will still be around for a long, long time to come… Not only is it earning good interest, my capital is protected.".

As an average trying-my-best-to-survive Singaporean, when your read the above, you know you are holding the shit end of the stick!

My blood sweat and tears CPF ran away from me when I was 55. They shifted the goalposts. Now I have to kick up a ruckus to use my CPF Medisave for my medication and doctors visit. My blood boils everytime they charge me an admin fee to use my hard earned CPF Medisave. WTF! My kids won't smell their CPF till they are 85 ... a long long time to come. Yes, my capital is protected to protect the USB, Merrill Lych and other foreign banks!

God Bless Peasant Singaporeans!

Elite Singaporeans, especially those connected to PAP through membership, relationship, balls-carrying-ship don't need blessings as they are rich, powerful and much closer to "God" and/or "Baby God".

In fact, they get CPF statement every month!

Can you believe it?

feedmetothefish

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Hong Kong, Singapore, DBS and Lehman Bros.









So funny.

I can help laughing when our leaders and our msm brag about how great this little red dot is, compared to other countries.

"More Good Years"; "Golden Period"; "More crimes up North"; "Our women folks not having to work as maids in foreign lands because our ministers are paid millions". Getting orgasmic on F1 and coming gambling dens (oops, or is it called IRs, integrated resorts meaning, gambling integrated with prostituting). Not forgetting the latest advice for our Indian friends on how to have "incorruptible" government with 'out of the world money-not-enough million $,$$$,$$$ salaries' for ministers pegged to salaries of CEOs like Lehman Bros. and/or other top earners.

"Kaw cheoh" in Hokien or "bitter laughter" in English is what I'm going through now. The utilities I used to pay for my non-aircon heartlander pigeon hole (HDB flat) is around $100 per month. Come November's bill, I'll have to pay about $121 or 21% more. Just what the 'fish' did I do to deserve this? I'm sure most Singaporeans feel 'fished' or screwed for having to pay 21% more.

In Hong Kong, they are getting a discount! Why is CLP Power (HongKong) giving a 3% discount to their customers when Singapore Power is raising its fee by 21%? I'm lost! So much talk about "Moving Ahead , Staying Together" but, unfortunately, so many non-elites are left behind.

Whatever reasons they give to justify the increase, it still doesn't make sense to me. 80% of our electric supply comes from natural gas but "Asia does not have a benchmark for gas prices. Until its gas trading industry comes up with a gas index, electricity prices will be pegged to oil prices." I will most grateful if someone can help me out here. Just what kind of a 'spin' is this? Though I'm just a HDB heartlander "O" level peasant boy of 57, I hate to be insulted by such intelligence!

My friend (who's rich enough to invest) got hit by the Lehman Bros Tsunami. As much as I feel cheated by the Singapore Power's powerful 21% increase, my richer poor friend is worse off after being 'fished' by our DBS!

Again so funnee! Our DBS Singapore has not lifted it's little finger to help my friend but DBS Hongkong "will offer a full refund to investors if it is found that they were misled into buying the products. " Again, "What the fish?"

Maybe the demo at Hong Lim Park today will help us achieve the standard which "first world country" citizens like my rich "poor" friend deserve.

I hope she gets her money back.

Hong Kong is part of supposedly communist China. Singapore is a "democratic society based on justice and equality". How come Hongkongers get a better deal than Singaporeans when dealing with DBS or power companies.

Boy, we are so "together and ahead"!

So funny!

But the laughter leaves such a bitter taste in the mouth.

"Kaw cheoh" indeed!

feedmetothefish

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Don't They Know How To KISS?

If only PM and SM know how to KISS, the grief and loss felt by Singaporeans who adore, admire and respect Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam would have been less painful.

It is not nice to score political cookie points during the bereavement of others. It's even worse if it's used as a means to demonstrate one's compassion and kindness while going on a camouflaged political demolition exercise. From a broken-hearted heartlander's perception, it's not constructive in nation building.

In the letter of condolence, if only "I was sad to learn that your father, Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, has passed away. Please accept my deepest condolences." and the paragraphs in between were omitted, it would seem more sincere.

If only they could "keep it simple, stupid"!

Call it good manners, EQ or whatever, I would have expected the PM and SM of Singapore to be more sensitive to the sensitivities of others!

With such empathy and sympathy shown in the letter and comments below, we can understand the lament of the MM when he said we are a long, long way from being a gracious society.

Call me sensitive but I feel it's a little callous on the part of the leaders.

feedmetothefish

CONDOLENCE LETTER FROM PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG ON DEMISE OF JB JEYARETNAM
30 September 2008


Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam


Dear Kenneth and Philip Jeyaretnam

I was sad to learn that your father, Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, has passed away. Mr JB Jeyaretnam was a Member of Parliament for Anson constituency from 1981 till 1986, and a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from 1997 till 2001. He used to engage in heated debates in the House. Perhaps it was because he and the PAP never saw eye to eye on any major political issue and he sought by all means to demolish the PAP and our system of government. Unfortunately, this helped neither to build up a constructive opposition nor our Parliamentary tradition. Nevertheless, one had to respect Mr JB Jeyaretnam’s dogged tenacity to be active in politics at his age.

However, our differences were not personal. In 1993, one of you (Kenneth) wrote to Mr Goh Chok Tong, who was then Prime Minister, to say that you found employers in Singapore reluctant to offer you a job, and your only explanation was that the employers felt the authorities would not welcome your employment because of your name. Mr Goh replied with a letter which could be shown to prospective employers, to say that the government did not hold anything against you, and that employers should evaluate you fairly on your own merits, like any other candidate, because Singapore needed every talented person that it could find. Mr Goh had previously made the same point to your brother Philip, whom he had invited to lunch. I am therefore happy that both of you have established yourselves in Singapore.

Please accept my deepest condolences.

Yours sincerely

Lee Hsien Loong

———–
COMMENTS OF SENIOR MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG IN RESPONSE TO MEDIA QUERIES ON THE DEMISE OF MR J B JEYARETNAM

I was taken aback when I learnt this morning that Mr J B Jeyaretnam had passed away. I did not expect it as I had recently read of his formation of a new political party and his interest in contesting in the next General Elections. I send my condolences to his two sons, Kenneth and Philip.

My first encounter with Mr Jeyaretnam was in the 1981 Anson by-election, which he won. I was then the PAP’s Organising Secretary. His victory showed that it was possible for opposition MPs to be elected into Parliament.

We had many more encounters later, in Parliament, during elections and in the Courts. Politically, we were on different sides of the fence. I did not believe his brand of politics was good for Singapore. PAP leaders and he had many heated exchanges. But despite this, we kept up our personal relationship.

As Prime Minister, I did not allow the PAP’s fight with Mr Jeyaretnam to affect his sons’ place in society. In reply to a letter from Kenneth, I assured him that we valued talent, regardless of his father’s stand in politics and determination to oppose us. I had invited Philip for lunch, to tell him the same thing.

What do I remember or respect most about Mr J B Jeyaretnam? Even though I did not agree with his political cause, I respect his fighting spirit to advance it and his willingness to pay a price for it.

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

SINGAPORE

30 September 2008


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

JBJ: True Son of Singapore Who was Fixed So Often but was Never Bought!

MR JOSHUA BENJAMIN JEYARATNAM
REST IN PEACE

It was quoted in ST, "Yesterday, his younger son, Philip, 44, a Senior Counsel and former Law Society president, said his father refused to have an operation for a constricted aortic valve. 'He felt when your time's up, time's up. He was very much at peace with himself and with what he had done with his life.'"

Unlike other politicians, Mr J B Jeyaratnam was neither kiasu nor kiasi. I respect him very much for his courage, integrity, tenacity and perseverance in his face-off with his political opponents. Having been a judge, he was never beholden to anyone. I remember the word "beholden" cost him much in terms of time and money for one of many defamation charges brought against him.

With my condolence and deep respect to Mr Jeyaratnam's sons for helping their dad pay to clear his name as a bankrupt, I wish Mr JB Jeyaratnam a good journey and I know he'll rest in peace in Heaven as his life on earth in Singapore, for many years, was made hellish by the Kiasu and Kiasi.

Rest in Peace, Sir!

feedmetothefish

Meanwhile, at http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90321dn.htm
I found

A SERIOUS threat of closure faces the Workers' Party led by Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam because of failure to pay the forbidding damages awarded against the Party by a court in Singapore. One hopes against hope that this might be avoided at the last minute. It is a slim hope. The world has come to assume, rightly or wrongly, that the political tactics used by the governing PAP against opposition politicians have for some time come to include suing their pants off, forcing them into bankruptcy and losing their seats in parliament as a result. Now the same device is resorted to against opposition political parties themselves, as registered institutions. The onus of proof is on the government of Singapore - not on global public opinion.

Nothing that smacks of opposition seems safe in Singapore any longer. Singaporeans must sooner or later come to realise the harsh truth that nobody in Singapore is truly saved unless ALL are SEEN to be saved. The post of no return has long passed for Singaporeans, and one fears they will perforce learn this lesson the hard way. In the ultimate analysis, this is probably best. The more painful the price paid to learn basic human lessons, the more firmly might they become embedded in the national fibre. A free Singapore will arise and justify the sacrifices and efforts of undaunted Singaporeans, now including the courageous Chee Soon Juan, who had immolated themselves on the altar of freedom. Phoenix-like, their dreams will rise once again from their ashes. Were this process not true, the world would have come to an end long ago.

It is just as well that I release this requiem now. If not timely yet, it will be soon enough. Here goes, for good or ill to myself:

Some months after I was kicked upstairs to the presidency of the republic of Singapore in October 1981, there was a by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Anson, which I had held prior to my ill-fated elevation. I had won that seat with a comfortable majority of some 80 percent of the votes cast. The PAP's candidate in the by-election was a relative unknown, while the Workers Party put up J.B Jeyaretnam. To the consternation of the PAP, Jeyaretnam won.

The day after the by-election verdict was declared, I had lunch with the Prime Minister. I was amazed at how he fretted and fumed like a caged fury. As I saw it, Jeyaretnam constituted no threat at all to the PAP whether in parliament or outside it. For one thing, despite Jeyas courage, he displayed a woeful lack of economics. He clearly never knew at any point of time how Singapore clicked economically. And it was as plain as a pikestaff to me that in five years of free performance in 'parliament against the likes of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr Lim Kim San et al, he would stand exposed in public for his abysmal ignorance of economics.

In truth, if I had to cope with J.B Jeyaretnam as a hostile delegate at regular National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Delegates Conferences, I would have given him all the rope and more he wanted to hang himself with. And after free and open arguments over three days of conferencing, I would have beaten him hands down at the ballot box. I knew this, as did the workers. For they knew that in the colonial days, Jeyaretnam had never stood on a picket line. I had, not once but several times, not only stood on picket lines, but also bedded down for the night on the gravel with the workers whom I led.

I told all this to Kuan Yew. Nothing I said sank in. He fretted about a potential critical percentage drop in PAP votes across all the constituencies that could eventually bring the PAP government down, and he wouldn't stand for it. Only later did I realise that this was the moment that started his formidable brain box ticking away furiously at the fecund gerrymandering schemes he was to introduce later to ensure that all opposition parties would be put in a Gordion bind that would make it impossible for them to ever achieve control of parliament, unless an Alexander came along. Such a possibility appears impossible now, unless it takes the awesome shape of shattering geo-political circumstances already building up around Singapore.

Immediately, however, Kuan Yew's attention was concentrated on how he would deal with J.B Jeyaretnam in parliament. I was quite alarmed at some of the things he told me at that lunch. "Look," he said, "Jeyaretnam cant win the infighting. I'll tell you why. WE are in charge. Every government ministry and department is under our control. And in the infighting, he will go down for the count every time." And I will never forget his last words. "I will make him crawl on his bended knees, and beg for mercy."

Jeyaretnam was made of sterner stuff. To his eternal credit he never did crawl on bended knees, or ever begged for mercy. And it is to Lee Kuan Yew's eternal shame that Jeyaretnam will leave the political scene with his head held high, enjoying a martyrdom conferred on him by Lee. Lest I be misunderstood, let me state that Jeya more than deserves the crown of the martyr for his indomitable courage and dignity in the face of the vilest persecution.

Even greater human spirits than Jeyaretnam had refused to bend their knees to Lee Kuan Yew. It is my considered view that the greatest human being living in Singapore today is one who declined to surrender to the intimidation of prolonged incarceration and restrictions imposed on him without trial for a total period which exceeds that suffered by Nelson Mandela. And here was the mark of true greatness. He emerged from the experience like a god unembittered. His name is Chia Thye Poh. And it is Lee Kuan Yew who emerged from the episode as the knave and fool of his own mindless vindictiveness, while the real conqueror smiles benignly - unnoted, of course, by the local media. For only sound waves from the Istana Annexe are picked up and regurgitated by His Master¹s Voice.

There is no political justification for obliging the Workers' Party to close down. And not a shred of moral justification. What lies behind the move is among the most brazen vindictiveness ever shown in the political life of Singapore. It merely adds one more nail in the coffin of the PAP's reputation when the true history of the party will be exposed to the world, as it surely will be one day in the coming decades of the third millennium. As mankind accelerates to the abyss, the shining memories of the past will certainly not include Lee Kuan Yew and the department store dummies he boasts today as his acolytes. He clearly does not possess the foresight to avoid such a fate.

I gladly salute J.B. Jeyaretnam and the Worker's Party at this highly deserved requiem, even if I never once had shared their platform.

C. V. Devan Nair.
Former President
Republic of Singapore.
March 26, 1999