What Hougang By-Election Means?

1) For The Workers' Party - The Workers' Party brand name was dented when its incumbent MP for the constituency Mr Yaw Shin Leong was sacked when accusations of his sexual misconduct surfaced.  He not only refused to account for his misbehaviour but fled the country.  This caught everybody by surprise more so the Party's leadership.  For Mr Low Thia Khiang (its Secretary-General) it is indeed a tough job holding  a tight ship together - note that immediately after the PM has called for a by-election a few opportunistic and selfish members tendered their resignations citing reasons like not being appointed party cadres, etc.  It is a goodish thing that such conceited and selfish individuals are expunged from the Party. The Workers' Party cannot afford another miss-step. Its MPs must be "whiter than the white uniform of the PAP members".

2) For The People's Action Party - The PM stood on high moral grounds - accusing the Workers' Party of not accounting and explaining to the Hougang consitutuents for the scandal.  He had been unwillingly forced to call for a by-election within 3 months (Note a court case is still pending of how the Constitutional provisions are to be interpretated for by-elections).  Lest he forgets in the last General Election a PAP candidate in a GRC constituency was substituted  by a doctor candidate when accusations of sexual misconduct against the former candidate  were reported by the press.  Then there were no accounting and explainations for the sudden withdrawal of the candidate.

3) For The Hougang Residents  -  The Workers' Party touted "Hougang As The Bastion of Democracy in Singapore"  Yes indeed,  since 1991 it has always supported the Worker's Party.  This comes about through much sacrifice.  It refuses to bow down to the PAP's intimidation of withholding of estate upgrading programmes and withdrawal of amenities like market and hawker stalls, bus services, etc. The Workers' Party stated it is because of Hougang that the Party managed to capture the GRC of Aljunied in the last General Election.  Bravo to Hougang residents!

4) For All Singapore Citizens - Is there a lesson all can learn from Hougang?  With the PAP's gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries, it secures 81 seats in Parliament although it receives only 60% of the votes.  Do you think this is fair?  After the last GE the Government has apologised for its mistakes and promises to put things right. It now talks about an "inclusive" society!   An "inclusive" society must encompass citizens with differing political ideas, viewpoints, thinking ,etc. and this includes the constituents of Hougang!



    

Our Idols - Counterfeit Gods.

Just finished reading the book entitled "Counterfeit Gods" by Timothy Keller.  I find that the book speaks profoundly to me about the "idols" we may harbour unconsciously in our hearts.   Success, money, true love, the life you have always wanted may turn out to be "counterfeit gods"  The recent financial crisis of 2008/2009  put to rest the argument that these pursuits are important.  Many are disillusioned and disenchanted!  There is only one God in the Bible who can only truly satisfy our cravings.  Now is the time for believers to find Him again and for non-believers to find Him for the first time.  The writer, Timothy Keller is also a pastor.  His exposition of the characters in the Bible like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Leah, Rachel, Jonah and others and their own confrontation with their own idols makes interesting reading and deeper understanding of our God Almighty.  Ever wonder why the first "two" commandments in the ten commandments as enumerated in Deuteronomy 5 stated categorically that " you shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make for yourself an idol."

The Truth Is Out.

Finally the truth is out.  As is the norm in every profession, you can always find "black sheep".  In launching the "Financial Advisory Industry Review" the Monetary Authority of Singapore has revealed that in the insurance industry the insurance agents together with their parasitic and unscrupulous bosses have ripped-off their clients by as much as 106% of their annual premiums as "commissions" into their pockets.  Now you know how those insurance miscreants manage to live in big bungalows and drive posh cars. This unethical and immoral practice must be common in the last one or two decades or more.  What happened?  Has our regulator been sleeping in his watch?  I wonder how many of our "baby boomers" and the present co-hort of our young people who have just entered the employment market have been "conned" into buying such products.  Can an avenue be opened to them to seek redress or compensation or ways they can be rescued from such "scams".  Hope that MAS can play a helpful role in this area for people who want redress!.  I will applaud if financial literacy education can be incoporated into our schools' curriculum.  This will safeguard our young adults from falling prey to charlatans in the insurance, investment and financial institutions.

Honesty Vis-A-Vis Sophism

Everyone believes in the truism "Honesty Is The Best Policy".  In a recent local newspaper's survey Singaporeans value "Honesty" highly.  However in the now on-going Parliamentary debates I notice many of the MPs of the Ruling Party (if I may say so the legally-trained ones) put forth clever arguments and sophism to misled and hookwink the citizens.  Let us take the controversy surrounding whether a by-election is essential for the Hougang single-seat constituency as a result of the sacking of the MP Yaw Shin Leong by the Workers Party. The Ruling Party has said it would consider carefully "whether and when to hold a by-election" as they are many important national issues to attend.  The WP has argued that the Constitution provided for a by-election for a single member constituency (SMC) to be called within 3 months or as soon as practical.  An NMP Eugene Tan has stated  a by-election  is automatic if we believe in democratic representation. Our records of the by-elections held and not held since the 1980s speak for themselves.   Futhermore the mainstream media (their entire editorial desk/journalists) got into the act by trying to sway the readers to the Ruling Party's thinking.  As per normal the mainstream media has let down its readers by not giving the true picture and playing its part by educating the citizens.  After the last General Election Singaporeans do not need our MPs for their sophism and to be sophists.  We just want plain simple truths!

Paul's Strategy.

Often our reading of our Bibles is only just 'reading'.  Thus we miss out of what God is trying to impart to us.  I came to this awakening/revelation after reading Mr James R Ettwein's meditation on Feb 17 2012 entitled "In the Middle of the Night" in the Upper Room.  The bible verses worth ruminating and applying them for ourselves are Phillipians 4: 6 - 7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but  in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Are there cares/concerns and anxieties weighing you down?  Paul says "do not be anxious about anything" and he follows up with the Holy Spirit-filled strategy "present your requests to God" - telling Him of your anxieties/fears/whatever and to give you peace!  After that, the peace of God which transcends understanding should encompass you as you have unburdened your heart and your mind.  So just don't be anxious, present your  requests and experience God's peace!  May the Holy Spirit indwells in you always!

Sight & Sound Of A Broken Glass.

I recorded the above video of the sight and sound of a broken glass on a recent visit to the Singapore Art Museum.  I think it is a reflection of the fragility and brevity of this life.  Enjoy it!

Ministers' Pay Debate - Discerning The Forest From The Trees.

If you have missed last week's 3 days of Parliamentary Debate on the Ministers' Pay, you have missed witnessing an important juncture of our Parliamentary democracy.  The debate was engaging and robust from Members of Parliament from both the Ruling Party and the Workers' Party.  I saw the beginning and evolving momentum of a 2-Party system in the Parliament - an anathema to some of the "Old Guards" in the Ruling Party. In fact some members of the Ruling Party tried to hammer out a bi-partisan consensus on the motion which to the credit of the Workers' Party refused to come on board. I see the fundamental and logical arguments of the Workers' Party based on the following sequence of the 3 principles:

1) Political Office is a calling, a privilege - who better to  represent this calling than Mr Chen Show Mao himself who gave up a lucrative legal job to become an MP.  An MP is elected by the people first before he can become a Minister.  And the Minister is not selected from the private sector by the Prime Minister.

2) Competitive Salary - As the Minister has first to be an MP, logically his pay should be bench-marked against an MP's allowance which the WP calculated to be $11,000 pm (the norm in the senior level civil service pay) From here the WP extrapolated the entry-level Minister's pay to be 5 times($55,000 pm) and the PM's 9 times ($99,000 pm)

3) Clean Wage - The WP stipulated that the bonus payments for Ministers should not be more than 5 months (the Review Committee recommended 13.5 months) as an average worker gets about 3 to 4 months bonus in a very good year.

The WP stated that the Cabinet is a Constitutional extension of the Parliament and thereby under the Legislative control of the Parliament.

Well, this will not be the last time we hear of Ministers' pay.  But at least I get educated on the matter - who say competitive ideas/viewpoints have no merit?

Wishing You A Blessed & Prosperous Chinese New Year Of The Dragon.

MY FAMILY AND I WISH EVERYONE A BLESSED AND PROSPEROUS CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE DRAGON!  EVERY DAY GIVEN TO YOU IS A MIRACLE.  CHERISH AND APPRECIATE YOUR BLESSINGS!


               GONG XI GONG XI WAN SHI RU YI!

Wisdom of Solon

It has been said that lower-class people talk about people; the middle class, things; and the upper class, ideas. I think wisdom is for all classes.  Solon was a stateman, lawmaker and poet of Athens (638BC - 559BC)  He was invited by King Croesus of Sardis who was then considered one of the richest person in the world to witness the monstrous wealth and the riches of his kingdom.  Croesus was so proud that he asked Solon who could match his opulence.  Solon replied that he knew of a citizen in Athens by the name of Tellus who was honest, ordinary man, good father, grandfather to his sons' children and died in glory fighting for his country. He added his countrymen believed in simple things, vision and might not be of importance and significance to the King.  He elaborated that man's life is subject to chance and vicissitudes of life - disaster can befall anyone anytime by surprise so no one can consider one successful until one has died well and his fortune still intact in the end. Fearing that he might have angered the King, his friend Aesop (famous for the Aesop's fables) who was also there advised him thus "Either we must come to mighty men at all or we must try to please them"  Solon replied "Either we must come to mighty men, or  we must tell them the truth"  Subsequently, King Croesus was defeated by King Cyrus of Persia and was taken prisoner.  Before he was to be burned at the stakes, he cried out the name of Solon 3 times.  King Cyrus asked him who was this man Solon.  Croesus told him of this wise man of Greece who taught him of his foolish prosperity, foresaw his present misery and advised him to consider that no man is  happy until he died well. The happy ending was Croesus was honoured  as one of the Counselors in King Cyrus's Court.  In the last financial crisis which has yet to take its full course many high-flying Hedge Fund managers and bankers were made to eat humble pies.  As they said "it ain't over till it's over"

Who Says There Is No Free Lunch in Singapore!

Here are my  reasons for saying there are  free lunches available  in this my lovely "Little Red Dot" Island if you look closely enough.  In our Public Libraries: There are thousands of books and audio-visual items which you can borrow.  Our libraries house a huge collection of books with daily addition of new arrivals -  on my recent visits I manage to borrow four new arrivals.  Everyday you can see the young and old enjoying the air-conditioning comfort  of the reading rooms and lounge areas.  In our Parks and Stadiums: You see people enjoying their morning/evening walks, jogs and "qi-gong" exercises.  In our iconic MacRitchie Reservoir and Botanic Gardens the beautiful sceneries and natural ambience are there for your enjoyment.  When the sun sets the lovers whisper sweet-nothings and subsume into the natural environment.  In the Espanade Concert Hall/Grounds:  There is a monthly free concert dubbed "The Beautiful Sunday" concert in the Concert Hall - the genre of music offerred range from Jazz/Symphonic Pop to Chinese Orchestral music.  That's not all, there are fringe acts/performances in the Concourse/Outdoor Theatre areas. Buses/Taxis:  Yes, you can hitch free rides from our friendly uncles and aunties who man such public  transport.  But you must be honest and explain your predicament -you may be facing a genuine "emergency" situation or you have just lost your wallet or belongings.  Our drivers will empathise with genuine requests but not cheats.

HERE MY FAMILY AND I WISH YOU A BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Above is the famout painting "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo Da Vinci which I extracted from the book entitled "Da Vinci Decoded" by Michael J Gelb which I had the good fortune to lay my hands on from the Bedok Naitonal Library last month. Many years ago while on a trip to France with my wife and in-laws I bought a souvenir bell which has the famous portrait embossed on it.  I purchased the item then remembering the song of the same name made famous by the late Nat King Cole whose extolling of the enigmatic beauty just captured my imagination.  I did not know then or bothered to find out who the painter was  -  poor me!  The bell is still seating pretty on top of the Korean chest in the hall of our home.  On the wall of the dining area in my apartment there is a cross-stitched (done by my wife) painting of the Last Supper - all these years I was not aware the famous painter was its creator!  The all-round genius of the painter was brought home to me after I read the book: his paintings have the balance and soul in them; he was also an inventor - he created designs for the parachute, snorkel, gear-shift, scissors, etc.  Leonardo said that his wish was to create miracles!  Do you know that Bill Gates paid US$30.8 million in 1994 for 18 pages of his note books.  The following are some of his divine spiritual thinking and philosophy:-

1) I reveal to men the origin of their cause of existence.
2) O human stupidity! Do you not perceive that you have spent your whole life with yourself and yet you are not aware of the thing you chiefly possess, that is of your folly.
3) While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.
4) Our body is subject to the heaven.
5) It is necessary for doctors who are guardians of the sick to understand what man is, what life is and what health is, and in what way a balance and harmony of these elements maintains it.
6) Love alone makes me remember, it is only love that makes me aware.
7) Do you not see that the treasure in itself does not heap praise on its accumulator after his life is spent.

Debut Performance, Interesting Data.

Debut Performance:  The 1st sesssion of the 12th Parliament had just recently concluded.  One take-away I had from the session was the masterly debut peformance of the Workers' Party MP Mr Chen Show Mao. He was saying "political differences are not akin to divisions"; expenditures on housing, education, health and eldercare are actually investments for the long-term.  Such expenditures should not be viewed as welfare programes which the Ruling Party had always wanted to propagandize them to be. His insights and eloquence are most inspiring.  If you had miss the show, I would suggest that you visit the Workers' Party's website to view the full text or video.  Do not rely on our mainstream media!  They have done a dis-service to Singaporeans by heavily editing and even censoring the speech!  Mr Chen Show Mao is the epitome of a politician Mr Theodore Roosevelt spoke about and I quote "The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice".
Interesting Data: I find the "Donations Received" for the top 2 candidates in the recent Presidential Election very interesting.  The runner-up(TCB) garnered an amount of $524,620.38 whilst the winner(TT) raised $338,000.00. Compared this with the tiny margin of votes of victory of the winner.  I wonder how much of the donations received are from ordinary Singaporeans, vested interest groups like big businesses/lobbyists, power-brokers or kingmakers.  Being a small nation, Singapore's politics should  never be  dictated or influenced by such undesirable groups

Better Service, Better Enforcement.

In the past 3 weeks I have e-emailed to 3 Bodies: a public-listed transport company, a Goverment Department and a country club.  My purposes in providing feedback are to ensure that proper and good services are provided and that the laws are enforced to provide a conducive living environment.

1) Feedback to Transport Co. - I was travelling in this Company's bus.  What put me off was the attitude of this bus-driver.  On 2 occasions I witnessed  that he refused to stop for his passenders although the latter had indicated their intention to board the bus.  I felt sorry for the passengers for they must be thinking of home after a hard day's work.  It is such blatant disregard for providing service not to mention good service by such a driver that only compound commuters' transport woes.

2) Feedback to Govt. Dept. - I stayed in an apartment block at a traffic junction in an HDB heartland.  During peak hours and especially during weekends Fridays and Saturdays nights the stretches of roads here morphed into mini racing circuits for the souped-up machines of these dare-devil motor-cyclists and motorists.  The din  and noise pollution not to mention the potential fatal accidents they may caused  are just too much!  The promise of action by the Traffic Department serves only to calm me.

3) Feedback to Country Club -  The Steam Bath in the Club was not working properly.  It looked like the renovation and maintenance done to the facility was not monitored.  I was worried that there might be health hazards if members were to use the facility.

I am thinking I was doing my small part in my active citizenship duties.  For I wish very much to live in a better and a safe neighbourhood and a better Singapore!

Less Advertisements - More Money For Charities.

I cringed every time I turned the pages of the Straits Times after 9th August.  I would be bombarded with loud and brash advertisements congratulating our National Day Awards winners.  Last year in a posting dated 26 July 2010 I floated the idea whether such big chunk of advertising revenues for the ST could be better use to help the coffers of Charitable Organisations.  Well, I had good news for you.  This year there was a refreshing change - there was less appearance and frequency of such advertisements.  My guess is there is a 75% reduction of such advertisements.  I like to believe that ST had heeded the feedback and indeed the money had been channelled to good and meaningful charitable purposes. To businessmen, business organisations, residents committees, town councils, etc who have extended "helping hands" I say a big "thank you".  You have not only "build yourself treasures on earth" but also "treasures in Heaven".  All Singapore should rejoice!