Our Minister Mentor Emeritus Lee Kuan Yew crossed path with Malaysia on numerous occasions.
In 2010, he alluded that Malaysia was a "failed state".
He also incurred the wrath of Malaysian Muslims for criticising Islam openly in his book.
Little does he realise (nor care) that Singapore pales in comparison in terms of democratic and civil freedom.
Who would have thought Malaysia had an independent judiciary?
Anwar Ibrahim acquitted!!!
In Singapore, our judges send three Singaporeans wearing kangaroo T-shirts to jail.
And you apparently can't voice an opinion on the death penalty.
I wonder if Singapore's political immaturity will affect the nation's ability to compete both economically and socially.
Showing posts with label Lee Kuan Yew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lee Kuan Yew. Show all posts
Monday, 9 January 2012
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Help, there's a WWII relic in my backyard!
I must admit, despite the below average acting and mediocre script, I do catch the odd episodes of the current Channel 8 police drama. Just call me a sucker for detective stories. Of course, it's nowhere near CSI.
In case you didn't realise, the People's Action Party controls most aspects of Singaporean life. During the late sixties and early seventies, Lee Kuan Yew told people how many children they should have by implementing the infamous "Stop at Two" policy. Third and fourth children were to be given less priority in education etc etc.
That policy has shaped Singaporean family planning. We now have one of the lowest birth rates globally.
He also told us who we should marry. Concerned that the growing numbers of "lesser educated" will "breed" "less educated" people, he urged men to choose wives who were graduates through the controversial Graduate Mother Scheme.
So it is no surprise that the government even uses entertainment to shape our lives a.k.a propaganda. Channel 8 programmes are laced with Party messages from promoting working women to the maritime industry.
The latest dose is an attempt to promote careers in the Singapore Police Force.
Everyone's favourite ex-Minister Wong Kan Seng had touched on the manpower shortage in the Force. Just like how Mah Bow Tan was "caught offguard", Wong Kan Seng totally let his guard down with the Mas Selamat issue and probably didn't take enough steps to ensure the Force grew sufficiently to match the growing population caused by the large influx of foreigners.
Forget UFO sightings. Dead bodies have been turning up in water tanks and reservoirs.
The recent fracas over the Police handling of the WWII bomb relic found in Sungei Kadut has cast new doubts over our Protectors.
Actually, they pretty much left the handling of the relic to private companies because it was found on private property. Isn't the Police supposed to "uphold the law, maintain order and keep the peace" wherever needed on this island? What if the bomb actually exploded?
Last year, there were a couple of high profile cases of gang activity in Downtown East and Bukit Panjang.
Do you actually know that regular police officers have no power to force gangs congregating at void decks to disperse? They can only "advise" them to move away. This is confirmed by one of the Staff Sergeants at Choa Chu Kang NPC.
While I salute the men and women who work the ground, the senior officers making decisions ought to relook their strategies and priorities.
Is it sound strategy to dispatch bus loads of officers to halt a peaceful 2-man rally but not offer assistance when an unexploded bomb is found?
In case you didn't realise, the People's Action Party controls most aspects of Singaporean life. During the late sixties and early seventies, Lee Kuan Yew told people how many children they should have by implementing the infamous "Stop at Two" policy. Third and fourth children were to be given less priority in education etc etc.
That policy has shaped Singaporean family planning. We now have one of the lowest birth rates globally.
He also told us who we should marry. Concerned that the growing numbers of "lesser educated" will "breed" "less educated" people, he urged men to choose wives who were graduates through the controversial Graduate Mother Scheme.
So it is no surprise that the government even uses entertainment to shape our lives a.k.a propaganda. Channel 8 programmes are laced with Party messages from promoting working women to the maritime industry.
The latest dose is an attempt to promote careers in the Singapore Police Force.
Everyone's favourite ex-Minister Wong Kan Seng had touched on the manpower shortage in the Force. Just like how Mah Bow Tan was "caught offguard", Wong Kan Seng totally let his guard down with the Mas Selamat issue and probably didn't take enough steps to ensure the Force grew sufficiently to match the growing population caused by the large influx of foreigners.
Forget UFO sightings. Dead bodies have been turning up in water tanks and reservoirs.
The recent fracas over the Police handling of the WWII bomb relic found in Sungei Kadut has cast new doubts over our Protectors.
Actually, they pretty much left the handling of the relic to private companies because it was found on private property. Isn't the Police supposed to "uphold the law, maintain order and keep the peace" wherever needed on this island? What if the bomb actually exploded?
Last year, there were a couple of high profile cases of gang activity in Downtown East and Bukit Panjang.
Do you actually know that regular police officers have no power to force gangs congregating at void decks to disperse? They can only "advise" them to move away. This is confirmed by one of the Staff Sergeants at Choa Chu Kang NPC.
While I salute the men and women who work the ground, the senior officers making decisions ought to relook their strategies and priorities.
Is it sound strategy to dispatch bus loads of officers to halt a peaceful 2-man rally but not offer assistance when an unexploded bomb is found?
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Most S'poreans want to work past retirement age: survey
In 2010, Lee Kuan Yew suggested that there be no retirement age.
I quote “You work as long as you can work and you will be healthier and happier for it. If you ask me to stop working all of a sudden, I think I'll just shrivel up, face the wall and just that."
And he continues, "(When) you have reached the maximum you can do at your age in that position, you move sideways and you take less pay and you move gradually, (getting) less and less pay because you are moving slower and slower, especially when you're doing physical work,"
So he exhorts us to take less pay when we are in our golden years but his pay as Minister Mentor (MM) kept on rising. Who would want to retire when they get paid millions just to do some periodic "forecasting"?
In news from State Media today, a story was published claiming that most Singaporeans want to work past retirement age. This possibly to prove a point that the pressure cooker society is no fault of the government.
They made this conclusion after Ranstad Group surveyed 405 out of over 3,000,000 Singaporeans.
Statistically, this is sufficient for a confidence interval of +-5%.
However, what the survey (and State Media) didn't reveal is the background of these 405 people.
Generally speaking, there are two groups of people who don't want to retire.
1) Those who can't afford to retire financially
2) Those who can afford to retire but want to continue working
I suspect a large number of Singaporeans fall into the former. Why?
A HSBC survey published 20 June found that 42% of Singaporeans DON"T have retirement financial plans.
That's a very significant proportion of the population. And by the way, HSBC's sample size was 1,046.
So if such big numbers of Singaporeans don't have retirement plans, you can conclude that they cannot afford to retire. Hence the need to continue working past the official retirement age. (quod erat demonstrandum)
A Japanese friend of mine visited the country recently. Through the media, he thinks that Singapore is a modern society full of rich and happy people. But his view changed when he saw: (There's a problem with posting videos/pics on blogger. Will get the video up asap. In the meanwhile, please see this).
He couldn't believe that elderly folks were carting used cardboard boxes in the 34 degree heat. He couldn't believe that old women were wiping tables at food courts.
You wouldn't see these things in Japan.
You wouldn't see these things in most developed countries.
Yet State Media publishes a meaningless story stating the obvious. The hard truth is that many Singaporeans fear retirement because they don't have enough savings in their later years.
Instead of probing the government for answers and accountability, our media continues to sweep the harsh reality of life in Singapore under white coloured carpets.
Singaporeans work past retirement age because of failed social and government policies:
1) CPF
2) Depressed wages
3) Cost of living
4) Immigration
Retired Ministers like Mah Bow Tan, Wong Kan Seng, George Yeo etc continue to receive multi million dollar pensions.
Yet the Minimum Sum (which stands at $131,000) has prevented thousands of retirees from accessing their hard-earned money. Just across the Causeway, the difference could not be more apparent. Malaysia's EPF allows full withdrawal without any outrageous conditions.
If citizens can't spend their twilight years playing with grand kids, touring the world, pursuing hobbies, hanging out with friends or just relaxing, then the system has gone horribly wrong.
I quote “You work as long as you can work and you will be healthier and happier for it. If you ask me to stop working all of a sudden, I think I'll just shrivel up, face the wall and just that."
And he continues, "(When) you have reached the maximum you can do at your age in that position, you move sideways and you take less pay and you move gradually, (getting) less and less pay because you are moving slower and slower, especially when you're doing physical work,"
So he exhorts us to take less pay when we are in our golden years but his pay as Minister Mentor (MM) kept on rising. Who would want to retire when they get paid millions just to do some periodic "forecasting"?
In news from State Media today, a story was published claiming that most Singaporeans want to work past retirement age. This possibly to prove a point that the pressure cooker society is no fault of the government.
They made this conclusion after Ranstad Group surveyed 405 out of over 3,000,000 Singaporeans.
Statistically, this is sufficient for a confidence interval of +-5%.
However, what the survey (and State Media) didn't reveal is the background of these 405 people.
Generally speaking, there are two groups of people who don't want to retire.
1) Those who can't afford to retire financially
2) Those who can afford to retire but want to continue working
I suspect a large number of Singaporeans fall into the former. Why?
A HSBC survey published 20 June found that 42% of Singaporeans DON"T have retirement financial plans.
That's a very significant proportion of the population. And by the way, HSBC's sample size was 1,046.
So if such big numbers of Singaporeans don't have retirement plans, you can conclude that they cannot afford to retire. Hence the need to continue working past the official retirement age. (quod erat demonstrandum)
A Japanese friend of mine visited the country recently. Through the media, he thinks that Singapore is a modern society full of rich and happy people. But his view changed when he saw: (There's a problem with posting videos/pics on blogger. Will get the video up asap. In the meanwhile, please see this).
He couldn't believe that elderly folks were carting used cardboard boxes in the 34 degree heat. He couldn't believe that old women were wiping tables at food courts.
You wouldn't see these things in Japan.
You wouldn't see these things in most developed countries.
Yet State Media publishes a meaningless story stating the obvious. The hard truth is that many Singaporeans fear retirement because they don't have enough savings in their later years.
Instead of probing the government for answers and accountability, our media continues to sweep the harsh reality of life in Singapore under white coloured carpets.
Singaporeans work past retirement age because of failed social and government policies:
1) CPF
2) Depressed wages
3) Cost of living
4) Immigration
Retired Ministers like Mah Bow Tan, Wong Kan Seng, George Yeo etc continue to receive multi million dollar pensions.
Yet the Minimum Sum (which stands at $131,000) has prevented thousands of retirees from accessing their hard-earned money. Just across the Causeway, the difference could not be more apparent. Malaysia's EPF allows full withdrawal without any outrageous conditions.
If citizens can't spend their twilight years playing with grand kids, touring the world, pursuing hobbies, hanging out with friends or just relaxing, then the system has gone horribly wrong.
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