Clueless Crap

Olinda Brazil (a Singaporean) wrote to Malaysiakini to complain about life in Singapore. You can read it here: I curse the day I was born a Singaporean


Her letter reminds me of a recent complaint I heard from a cab driver in Singapore:

The Government doesn’t care about us poor people. I invested my money in some financial package and when the subprime crisis hit, I lost money. I expect the government to force the banks to repay us but it did not…


I was taken aback. Here was a “poor” cab driver but with enough surplus money to invest (this itself speaks volumes about the wealth of Singaporeans). He wanted to “work” his money. By his own choice he invested in a financial deal. Had it not been for the subprime crisis, he would have made some money – which no doubt he will keep to himself.

Yet at the end of the day, like every other handout addicts I have met, they expect the government to bail them out of every black day they experience. They expect handouts even when it is not deserved.


Back to Brazil’s gripe:

In brief, Brazil complains about life as a citizen in Singapore.

Let’s see:

Let me provide an insight on how it is like to be a Singaporean. I must first stress that new immigrants or Permanent Residents (PRs) from Malaysia (like my parents) will not experience any disadvantages. It is the children of these people (like me) or new PRs’ children (who will be Singaporean) who will feel the disadvantages most sorely, and curse the fact they were born in Singapore

Waitaminit – why is it that the parents can make it but not the children? What has changed since? LKY was around then. He is still around today. So what is stopping Brazil from achieving the success of the parents?

My thoughts:

Immigrants (or newcomers) are known to be hardworking. Very competitive. However some “next generation” just want to live off the fruit of their parents. Has Brazil fallen into that trap? Or does Brazil expect blessings to simply fall down from the sky?

The typical Singaporeans that I know are hardworking. Yes there are those under-performers too but by and large, the population works hard – very hard. I know – a relative of mine gave up working in Singapore because, in her own words “you have to really work and not ‘bluff’ your way through”.


Brazil next says:

However, Singapore has problems at present because its development model is outdated

And we are supposed to take Brazil’s word for it…

The media prints only propaganda, the courts will always find the government blameless as the government runs 70% of the economy

Strong words but ones without basis or support. “Always”, “70%” without citing data.

As far as I tell from my research, the government had pursued its right in both domestic and international courts. It was the only opening for the government to correct perceptions. Like Tengku Razaleigh himself had or would have done (see here). The key issue is whether you can substantiate your assertion with facts.

…the common people are scared to death of arbitrary arrest

Here you can see Brazil’s obvious deep seated prejudice, to the extent of making a sweeping statement. The common people fearing arbitrary arrest?

This common cab driver apparently have utmost confidence in the Singapore Police Force. Relating the story of Manoha Pinot escape:

“We were worried that the police might not help us. So we asked the taxi driver how the police here worked,” said Asih.

“He told us that the police would definitely protect us regardless of who we were, whether we were foreigners or locals, whether we were rich or poor.”


I will not go further. To me Brazil’s piece is just a rant.
Probably from someone who could not make it to the top echelon. For whatever reason…


I sympathise with Brazil. But my advice to Brazil is – do some soul searching. Find your own lack and rectify it. Make yourself more marketable.

Unless, of course, you think that you will find a better place in Malaysia with whatever attitudes you currently carry with you. Though I am not sure Malaysia welcomes someone with excess baggage like yourself.


By the way, the money a Singapore Minister makes is much less than what he can pull if he had remained in the private sector. This group of high performers comprised of prominent economist, lawyers, doctors, etc.

The current law minister is an example – one of the top and well known lawyer taking a pay cut, just so that he can make a difference in the Justice Ministry.


Crap!

Bye Bye Cancer?

In the midst of gloomy news of deaths this week, one piece of news is most welcome:

Australian scientists kill cancer cells with ‘trojan horse’

In brief:

Australian scientists have developed a “trojan horse” therapy to combat cancer, using a bacterially-derived nano cell to penetrate and disarm the cancer cell before a second nano cell kills it with chemotherapy drugs


This should brighten your day:

We want to be part of moving towards a time when cancers can be managed as a chronic disease rather than being regarded as a death sentence


Good luck to the team!

When A Minister Lies

Here we go again – more lies…from the Home Minister.


In Hishammuddin: No plan to abolish ISA, PPPA he said that

The ISA has to be retained because it is effective in preventing activities that are subversive or able to threaten the national security and public order


Public order rightfully falls under the purview of the judiciary and the police, no?
Kerisman probably thinks we need the ISA to make up for the f***ed up judiciary and the police force!

And pray tell, what national security concern is being threatened? Where are the bombings and the unrest? Most street demonstrations are peaceful. The violent ones are the riot police, acting under the order of these UMNO goons.

As far as I can tell, most of those fellas under detention in ISA are there for their political and religious beliefs. And if they are a threat, should not their freedom be determined by a qualified court of law?


And then he said

From the feedback gathered from forums organised by the ministry, a large portion of society still thinks that the law is relevant and agrees that it should not be abolished

Wow.

But somehow I cannot but suspect that those who attended the forums are mostly diehard UMNOnites. And for him to infer from the forums that a large section of society still favours ISA…

Waitaminit – the opposition pun bolih spin what- from the feedback I gathered from the independent web-blogs, large portion of society strongly believes the ISA is simply a tool to keep UMNO in power.


Now, which of the above two statements do you think is more truthful?


He was mediocre at best when he was the Education Minister. He is worse in his new office.

This is one reason I strongly advocate that ministries be helmed by those who merit such office on the basis of their intelligence and knowledge.

Crap!

Mas Selamat and the Keris

Another boo-hoo by the kerisman: Mas Selamat not extradited to Singapore because of security concerns


Dear Hisham told Parliament that

The government did not extradite Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, to the island state due to security reason


After reading the opener, I was waiting for more, like, what security concerns he has that prevented extradition.


Kerisman did not disappoint.

We did not extradite Mas Selamat as we are concerned it will undermine the country’s peace and put the people’s safety at risk.


Huh?

Did I missed something?

Did kerisman just imply that an extradition will risk Mas Selamat escaping resulting in potential security risks (country’s peace konon!) ?

So it begs the question: How in the world does an extradition got to do with Malaysia’s peace and its people’s safety?


Sigh… and the other MPs just accepted his words and continue to sleep on the job…


Crap!

Najib Crap

There is a serious dearth of intelligent ministers in UMNO.
What can one expect when positions are handed down to powerful but airhead warlords?

Case in point…

He said in Najib tries unity gambit, again

But he appealed to PAS to act in the name of Malay and Muslim unity

Hmmm…the Malays (and Muslims) are disunited?

Just because half the Malays/Muslims voted for the opposition, does that the Malays are disunited? If so, scrap the general election altogether. Why pretend to have one just to show there is democracy in Malaysia?

Cut through the bullshit and you’ll see that Malaysia is not experiencing a ‘disunity’ issue. It is simply the people voicing their preferred choice and type of government. It is democracy at work. Something UMNO is not used to, despite trumpeting that it is a government elected through democratic means.

By the way, if the Malays are really disunited, who is to be blamed?


And this takes the cake:

First our 1M-PM says The prime minister believed, however, that the country’s multi-racial nature would not be affected by a more united Malay-Muslim community

(This statement makes his 1M concept even more confusing – does this mean that his 1M has two tiers citizenships?).

Then he says Just because there is a unity government does not mean the non-Muslims will be neglected. They will still have a role

Did you feel the insulting insinuation in Najib’s closing words?

“A role“, he says.

A tea lady has a role (position filled by Gerakan). The chauffeur too (MCA). And the office boy (MIC?).

So you can expect from Najib: Crumbs. Leftovers. Spillover. Handouts.

Waitaminit – this has already been going on for the last 50 years, isn’t it? The powers that be take the big chunk of the pie and leave the crumbs to the rest. Including the Malays.

Crap