Ever since I made my first "serious political blog post", I've been getting quite a lot of hits from some "very obviously political" blogs. I'm not sure to be worried or not, after all, I'm not a regular "political post-er". My mum said, "You better not get into unnecessary trouble" after she learnt that I was "trying my hand" at making political posts. That's it for her, getting into trouble. The very mindset that PAP wanted(?) to inculcate in the general public, so that policy-making would be an easier task (they've really succeeded for the older generation). I believe that whatever I say here makes sense (at least to me) and I am not getting involved in brainless slandering, so I have nothing to fear. After all, PAP would not be so dumb to arrest me for something so small. Singapore is not yet that scary a police-state as foreigners would have you believe. For me, writing about these issues are more of an exercise in my language and ability to debate on serious stuff. I'm not sure, but it could also be an awakening in my political senses, whatever.
After blog-surfing with one blog referring to others, I chanced upon a blog which Chee Soon Juan wrote in. Wasn't really interested in his writing, cos his posts were not bite-sized (I have "Attention Deficit Disorder" =P). From that blog, you can link to many other political blogs, so I guess I do have some reading material whenever I am bored.
But it's quite heartening to see that there are many locals who share a deep interest in reigning issues in Singapore. Ministers' salaries aside, there have been quite some other issues out there too, like neighbourhood upgrading (a mindless posting written in appalling English - well at least it looks like English - with interesting comments by others), a blogger's reply to this, and others. I think the leaders should be proud that their wishes have come true, that the young are no longer as politically apathetic as they once were. It's what they wished for, didn't they? (That's why I am a firm believer of "being careful of what you wish for".)
This might actually bode well for Singapore as a whole, because more Singaporeans feel more strongly about many issues, which only goes to show that they regard this land as their home and they actually want to make things work properly here. Of course there will be people so disillusioned that they decide to leave for greener pastures, but I think it's about the same everywhere. The saying "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" goes for EVERY government in power, the degree of which is reflected in the balance of power in the ruling government's favour.
For me, I will definitely be making Singapore my home, at least for the foreseeable future. I do not indulge in absolutes now, after observing first-hand what happened in other countries, and because the world is so wide. At this stage in my life, I am more mobile than most other older people, because I have not bought a house or car (which requires you to sink a substantial part of your finances in, therefore giving you a firm "rooting" to Singapore.) I hope my 6-month overseas stint will give me something to think about. For me, pure democracy is a stupid system, simply because in general, I believe majority of the people are stupid, and they do not know what is good for them. It takes someone with foresight to lead a nation, and the notion of "majority wins" is something best left to a group of friends deciding on where to eat for dinner.
I have to say I'm quite impressed with the PAP policymakers' foresight after hearing from my European friends about their own governments back home. The opposition parties in Singapore are, in my belief, not quite up-to-mark yet, they are, at best, only functioning as a check on PAP (so they do not have "unfettered power"). As a blogger said (I'm not sure if it was a Young PAP person), these opposition parties have yet to submit proposals for a Shadow Budget to show how they would allocate national resources for various purposes. I believe that would be a clear indicator of their level of preparedness, if they were able to draft something like that up. Till then, let the opposition "rule" Potong Pasir and Hougang, just so long as PAP doesn't rule over the whole land.
OK that's all for today. Nothing's been too interesting in my life now, so I guess, posts nowadays will mainly consist of what I read in the papers or online.
P.S.: There was a newspaper columnist who called the term "blogosphere" nonsense. Guess he doesn't believe in the evolution of language. Things change (and on a large scale, add up to a paradigm shift), mindsets that don't are best left in the history section of the library.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
People with a penchant for idiocy have no business in politics
This is an example of a imbecilic and bigoted response to common people's concerns. Laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. I'm sure my grandma wouldn't have made a mistake like that if she were a politician.
This lawyer, presumably a rich and arrogant one, makes a VERY LAME case in trying to justify the increase in ministers' salaries on the Young PAP blog. (I'm not sure what Dr Vivian as YP Head is doing, is he even checking their language and the tone they set?) This Nicholas compares top-level civil servants to people in his profession (not a very good analogy to start with), whom we know to be serpents in disguise, two-faced people who are able to lie through their teeth and feel no prick in conscience AT ALL. They're probably the only sort of people whom, even after repenting before the altar, God might still not forgive.
I PURPOSELY put this down, because just as Nicholas Lazarus makes no attempt in being political correct sensitive (being an aspiring politician and sounding like a bumbling buffoon), I don't see why I, as an engineer and totally unschooled in the fine art of politics and politicking, should make comments any less hurting and piercing than his own. (But surely, that's how most people think of lawyers anyway, so go ahead make my day and sue me.) What did this guy learn during university anyway? Only how to lick his books?
I seriously hope for Singapore's sake people like him NEVER get to rise to the top, because this is when we all NEED to start migrating. With people like him on top, arbitrary increases in salaries and taxes are going to come hand-in-hand (with one feeding the other), and lousy excuses which are gloved in political incorrectness will be bandied about. Or maybe they won't even bother with giving reasons and excuses since they have a proclivity for idiocy. They'll just tell you get on with life, peasant folk. "If you're not capable enough to be sitting in my chair, I suggest you just pay your due taxes or I'll get Mr Policeman to arrest you and Mr Judge to keep you in jail for a long time."
I hope the likes of him will be thrown out of the party just so MM Lee's efforts in grooming talent don't go to waste. NUS, NTU and SMU might want to consider opening up "Politics and Diplomacy 101" courses for aspiring politicians just so they don't commit cardinal sins like stabbing their supporters/fellow citizens openly in forums and blogs. Young PAP should actually start screening their members and not allow any Tom's Harry Dicky hobo to enter and commit political kamikaze on its behalf. Or maybe MM Lee himself might wanna actually help school these people in the art of reasoning and common sense. Only then PAP can hope to stand strong once again.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ministers and civil servants' pay to increase (part 2)
Back on the topic of government salary increases, I found a few interesting articles regarding this issue. Since the ruling government made it abundantly clear that political discourse should belong ONLY to political blogs, which I believe need to have a license(?) and I have NO wish to license this cos I HATE dislike (OK language called for reworking) people whom I dunno reading my blog, so I'll leave this as objective as humanly possible (faced with the amount of money we're talking here, of course.)
(Phew, run-on sentence. My GP tutor would have killed me for this.)
Anyway back to the topic. First I bring you, an extract of our MM's speech and views about raising government pay. He reasons that to keep top people in ministerial positions who are corruption-free, we require to dangle monetary carrots to attract talent and to retain existing ones. And he contends that ministers in Singapore are NOT ordinary people as they have to deal with Singapore's scarcity of natural resources as well as the fact that we have limited human resources. That, he says, makes managing Singapore all the more challenging. I guess MM Lee has good reasoning, and he has the wisdom of years behind him to base his views on. Kudos to him for being able to take unpopular decisions for the good of the country and succeeding. I'm not a big fan of his, but because of him, I believe that a limited democracy is the best system to go.
YoungPAP's elaina olivia chong bolsters this view. She says "money is the proverbial carrot" and that even ministers should not be expected to take the "moral high ground". I reserve my stand on this, however, I agree with some of her statements. But the first statement in her second paragraph puts me off. I feel that she, as well as many of the ministers and policymakers should respect the diaspora of views in the forums and on the ground and maybe use their elite brains to try to understand where the common people are coming from. Seek to persuade people to your side, not coerce people into your thinking. In this aspect, I believe that for all its successes, PAP (and by extension, YoungPAP) has one big failing - that in their duty to the public to properly educate the masses on their reasons for numerous policies, not just on this issue. Sooner or later, I predict that it will fall (if it continues on this way), not because it is not a good government, but because the-Singaporean-on-the-street is becoming increasingly disgruntled and perturbed with these "elite ministars" just making decisions on their own. (If you did a double take on "ministars", no, it's not a spelling mistake.)
And then there are of course the people on the ground who are just plain disturbed by the multimillion-dollar salaries that the ministers are taking home. It seems that somehow, some of them got their facts mixed up and some thought that it was a million-dollar monthly salary that the ministers were taking home. Haha. I mean seriously, you want to blog, get your facts right first. That's the annual figure for you, dudes (although it's still frigging huge.)
The opposing camp:
I am Singaporean XX - Singaporeans in Demand?
I am Singaporean XX, cont’d - An Answer. (apparently the same guy.)
And for good measure read the comments below the very first post (the post where MM Lee was quoted). I guess these views are simple enough to digest, and need not be elaborated on.
Then there are others who try to infuse their views with facts: http://samaryn.com/2007/03/05/linking-pay-with-performance-in-singapore-civil-service
For even more information out there, use Google.
Politics, politics, politics.
If there's one reason why we should support this obscene salary, it's because it will help the ministers stay "white" and free from corruption. After all, not many in the world can afford to bribe a million dollars. Corruption in the government is a very serious affair, because it is at the highest level and is very hard to check. Once corruption seeps into the highest levels, it can remain there for a very long time. I mean, look at the neighbouring countries, the ministers are paid lowly salaries, but turn out to be the richest people in their respective countries. Scratching your head? Look no further than Thaksin, or Mahathir. I guess most people here are familiar with them both. I'm not saying they're corrupt, but I just wonder how they got so rich. I bet you are too.
So far, paying out millions has worked fine. But then, when the casinos come rolling in together with the high-rollers and the vice that come along with it, ahhh, then I really wonder.
Edit: Oops after re-reading, I realized I wasn't being very objective (and the post is very messy). But heck, unless some higher powers orders the razing of this blog, nothing will be changed.
(Phew, run-on sentence. My GP tutor would have killed me for this.)
Anyway back to the topic. First I bring you, an extract of our MM's speech and views about raising government pay. He reasons that to keep top people in ministerial positions who are corruption-free, we require to dangle monetary carrots to attract talent and to retain existing ones. And he contends that ministers in Singapore are NOT ordinary people as they have to deal with Singapore's scarcity of natural resources as well as the fact that we have limited human resources. That, he says, makes managing Singapore all the more challenging. I guess MM Lee has good reasoning, and he has the wisdom of years behind him to base his views on. Kudos to him for being able to take unpopular decisions for the good of the country and succeeding. I'm not a big fan of his, but because of him, I believe that a limited democracy is the best system to go.
YoungPAP's elaina olivia chong bolsters this view. She says "money is the proverbial carrot" and that even ministers should not be expected to take the "moral high ground". I reserve my stand on this, however, I agree with some of her statements. But the first statement in her second paragraph puts me off. I feel that she, as well as many of the ministers and policymakers should respect the diaspora of views in the forums and on the ground and maybe use their elite brains to try to understand where the common people are coming from. Seek to persuade people to your side, not coerce people into your thinking. In this aspect, I believe that for all its successes, PAP (and by extension, YoungPAP) has one big failing - that in their duty to the public to properly educate the masses on their reasons for numerous policies, not just on this issue. Sooner or later, I predict that it will fall (if it continues on this way), not because it is not a good government, but because the-Singaporean-on-the-street is becoming increasingly disgruntled and perturbed with these "elite ministars" just making decisions on their own. (If you did a double take on "ministars", no, it's not a spelling mistake.)
And then there are of course the people on the ground who are just plain disturbed by the multimillion-dollar salaries that the ministers are taking home. It seems that somehow, some of them got their facts mixed up and some thought that it was a million-dollar monthly salary that the ministers were taking home. Haha. I mean seriously, you want to blog, get your facts right first. That's the annual figure for you, dudes (although it's still frigging huge.)
The opposing camp:
I am Singaporean XX - Singaporeans in Demand?
I am Singaporean XX, cont’d - An Answer. (apparently the same guy.)
And for good measure read the comments below the very first post (the post where MM Lee was quoted). I guess these views are simple enough to digest, and need not be elaborated on.
Then there are others who try to infuse their views with facts: http://samaryn.com/2007/03/05/linking-pay-with-performance-in-singapore-civil-service
For even more information out there, use Google.
Politics, politics, politics.
If there's one reason why we should support this obscene salary, it's because it will help the ministers stay "white" and free from corruption. After all, not many in the world can afford to bribe a million dollars. Corruption in the government is a very serious affair, because it is at the highest level and is very hard to check. Once corruption seeps into the highest levels, it can remain there for a very long time. I mean, look at the neighbouring countries, the ministers are paid lowly salaries, but turn out to be the richest people in their respective countries. Scratching your head? Look no further than Thaksin, or Mahathir. I guess most people here are familiar with them both. I'm not saying they're corrupt, but I just wonder how they got so rich. I bet you are too.
So far, paying out millions has worked fine. But then, when the casinos come rolling in together with the high-rollers and the vice that come along with it, ahhh, then I really wonder.
Edit: Oops after re-reading, I realized I wasn't being very objective (and the post is very messy). But heck, unless some higher powers orders the razing of this blog, nothing will be changed.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Ministers and civil servants' pay to increase
If you thought a $3000/month job was good, wait till you see Singapore government ministers' pay.
Right now, they're earning S$1.2 million annually (I think the PM earns more than that). If we take a normal year (365 days), that works out to be $3287.67/day. That's assuming they even work every day of the year. They should, else their pay will be even more obscene.
And now our dear PM has said it's NOT ENOUGH, since a 1994 ruling pegged ministers' salaries to a benchmark that has been set at "two-thirds of the median income of the eight top-earning professionals in six professions", which includes lawyers, bankers, businessmen, engineers(?!?!) and I can't remember the last two. (Strangely enough, doctors weren't included in the list- aren't they supposed to be pulling in big bucks too?)
Anyway, the government has calculated this benchmark to be $2.2 million now, so I think they're going ahead and PM's gonna say something like, "OK Singapore Inc. is doing quite well now. We've won numerous awards like Best Airport and Best Airline in the world, No.1 Least corrupt government in the world, Top 10 Best Nightlife Spots in the world, yada yada. As your reward, I'm giving you a $1 million increase in pay as a pat on the back, how's that? You guys staying or leaving for the Middle East?"
I think Singapore can get another award: Highest Ministers' Pay in the world.
But then, if you angle it differently, it all begins to make sense. Looking at the level of the ministers' pay, one wonders why there is any need for corruption in Singapore AT ALL.
Right now, they're earning S$1.2 million annually (I think the PM earns more than that). If we take a normal year (365 days), that works out to be $3287.67/day. That's assuming they even work every day of the year. They should, else their pay will be even more obscene.
And now our dear PM has said it's NOT ENOUGH, since a 1994 ruling pegged ministers' salaries to a benchmark that has been set at "two-thirds of the median income of the eight top-earning professionals in six professions", which includes lawyers, bankers, businessmen, engineers(?!?!) and I can't remember the last two. (Strangely enough, doctors weren't included in the list- aren't they supposed to be pulling in big bucks too?)
Anyway, the government has calculated this benchmark to be $2.2 million now, so I think they're going ahead and PM's gonna say something like, "OK Singapore Inc. is doing quite well now. We've won numerous awards like Best Airport and Best Airline in the world, No.1 Least corrupt government in the world, Top 10 Best Nightlife Spots in the world, yada yada. As your reward, I'm giving you a $1 million increase in pay as a pat on the back, how's that? You guys staying or leaving for the Middle East?"
I think Singapore can get another award: Highest Ministers' Pay in the world.
But then, if you angle it differently, it all begins to make sense. Looking at the level of the ministers' pay, one wonders why there is any need for corruption in Singapore AT ALL.
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