People are the most negatively charged creatures in this world. In my 2 decades of live, i think positively charged people are only a handful. People that can make themselves shine in this world and inspiring other people are so few in the world, they are gems.
I don't understand why actually. People usually feel bad about others, the world, their parents, their friends, siblings and of course themselves. I feel that feeling bad about oneself is really unfortunate. In a world where people snub one another, look down on one another, the last thing is you look down on yourself.
I think in order to succeed in life, one should take note of his own strength, and push forward. Like if you are strong in math, go and do math. If you are strong in arts, pursue it. Perhaps why lots of people feel bad about themselves is they are going on a path which they themselves has no clue, no strength in it. It is just not their forte.
But once said, once you took on the path where you are more well equipped. There are pitfalls, potholes too.
The pitfalls is, one tend to bask in their old glory and never move forward. The earth is continuing turning, everybody grow old day by day. Time and tide wait for no man but you can always see people, still living in their own world, the golden era, the world where they excel and things like that.
I believe to be successful in the future, you must look at the past but not live in the past. Thats my mantra.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Integrated Resort
Applauds Applauds! The cat has been let out of the bag, we are going to build, not one, not one and a half but two integrated resorts. Personally i welcome the move to make Singapore into a Vice city where boozes, sex, gambling rules.
The geylang situation has gone out of hand, so much so that cameras need to be installed at every nook of the streets. But the hookers just fled to the opposite side and continue to do their soliciting, or prospecting. HIV on the rise so much so the government is thinking of testing the pregnant ladies whether they have HIV and of course test the babies as well. And if the babies have, i think they will be aborted and made into "kun-man-tong" ( kun man tong is a thai word for...baby spirit?)
And bars, watering holes open all around singapore. Joo Chiat, a nice peranakan neighbourhood was the copycat of m.sultan road. Teens sex rises, party drugs rules while all are still goody good shoes in their parents eyes.
And now, beside 4D, Score, Toto, Sweepstakes, lottery, underground bookies, cruise boat, batam, we have casino. Indulge in vices Singaporean, do not call NKF anymore but let your money roll!!
Ok serious now. Integrated resorts is build to, like Lim Boon Heng said, 35 000 jobs is at stake and we couldn't say no. However there is a lack of people working in the entertainment and gambling industry. So the question is, are these 35 000 jobs going to be filled by foreigners, again?! I got this feeling that when it is built, Johorean or genting highland people will come here in the doves and filled up all the space available. So i think the best thing is, send a core group of people to be attatched to las vegas or macau or even genting to learn the art of card distributing.
Next, the resorts. Definitely a shopping mall is to be build. But what kind of shops are going to be filled inside? Would it be giordano, bossini, hang ten, bata, bread talk, taka jewellery, SK jewellery, food junction, etc? Or would it be something different, something which the name i never heard of.
I think basically, why Singapore can't attract tourists is because of the usual shops found in Singapore. Go around orchard road and count how many Giordano it has. Aplently. Count how many coffee bean, starbucks it has, alot. So where ever the tourists walk, he is greeted by the same shops over and over again. Its definitely boring.
With plans to make Orchard road a shopping hub, please for whoever sake, don't let those same old shops took up almost 3/4 spaces again!
The geylang situation has gone out of hand, so much so that cameras need to be installed at every nook of the streets. But the hookers just fled to the opposite side and continue to do their soliciting, or prospecting. HIV on the rise so much so the government is thinking of testing the pregnant ladies whether they have HIV and of course test the babies as well. And if the babies have, i think they will be aborted and made into "kun-man-tong" ( kun man tong is a thai word for...baby spirit?)
And bars, watering holes open all around singapore. Joo Chiat, a nice peranakan neighbourhood was the copycat of m.sultan road. Teens sex rises, party drugs rules while all are still goody good shoes in their parents eyes.
And now, beside 4D, Score, Toto, Sweepstakes, lottery, underground bookies, cruise boat, batam, we have casino. Indulge in vices Singaporean, do not call NKF anymore but let your money roll!!
Ok serious now. Integrated resorts is build to, like Lim Boon Heng said, 35 000 jobs is at stake and we couldn't say no. However there is a lack of people working in the entertainment and gambling industry. So the question is, are these 35 000 jobs going to be filled by foreigners, again?! I got this feeling that when it is built, Johorean or genting highland people will come here in the doves and filled up all the space available. So i think the best thing is, send a core group of people to be attatched to las vegas or macau or even genting to learn the art of card distributing.
Next, the resorts. Definitely a shopping mall is to be build. But what kind of shops are going to be filled inside? Would it be giordano, bossini, hang ten, bata, bread talk, taka jewellery, SK jewellery, food junction, etc? Or would it be something different, something which the name i never heard of.
I think basically, why Singapore can't attract tourists is because of the usual shops found in Singapore. Go around orchard road and count how many Giordano it has. Aplently. Count how many coffee bean, starbucks it has, alot. So where ever the tourists walk, he is greeted by the same shops over and over again. Its definitely boring.
With plans to make Orchard road a shopping hub, please for whoever sake, don't let those same old shops took up almost 3/4 spaces again!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Can Men and Women Be Friends?
Came across this: "
Once in a while, I run across a blog entry that reignites the perennial When Harry Met Sally debate on whether a guy and a girl can ever be just friends.
To settle it, here's the rule, as I see it:
If there's attraction with hope = can't be friends.
If there's attraction with no hope = can be friends
If there's attraction and a respect for boundaries = can be friends, so long as boundaries exist.
If there's no attraction = can be friends.
PS. Guys always hope. "
I agree with it...
Once in a while, I run across a blog entry that reignites the perennial When Harry Met Sally debate on whether a guy and a girl can ever be just friends.
To settle it, here's the rule, as I see it:
If there's attraction with hope = can't be friends.
If there's attraction with no hope = can be friends
If there's attraction and a respect for boundaries = can be friends, so long as boundaries exist.
If there's no attraction = can be friends.
PS. Guys always hope. "
I agree with it...
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Want to say, just say it
I really don't understand. When you read those blog and the writer want to express his frustration but can't find any words to use, due to his limited vocabulary, he will often type the F word. But then, he won't type it as it is. Word like fcuk, fish, frup,etc would come out.
I mean, want to type, just type it lah. Whats the big deal? It just like you want to do it, yet scared. Since you have the intention, then just do it. Still pretend to be gracious, civilised for what?! When you type the letter F plus 4 other letters which when pronounced sound like the real mc coy, then type the real thing lah!
Don't act civilised when you aren't one.
I mean, want to type, just type it lah. Whats the big deal? It just like you want to do it, yet scared. Since you have the intention, then just do it. Still pretend to be gracious, civilised for what?! When you type the letter F plus 4 other letters which when pronounced sound like the real mc coy, then type the real thing lah!
Don't act civilised when you aren't one.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Cuiwen
This name..i believe is the hottest in NUS now. Why? Because she is sort of embarassed by a guy who professed his love for her during one of the maths lectures. And how do i know, because my NUS peeps told me.
Well, i think, if you are reading this cuiwen. Don't feel sad anymore. See, at least you know that there is always people who care about you. Thats important ain't not? Also, you are sort of lucky because there are millions of singles out there like me, who don't even know whether got people like us or not. So don't feel sad anymore ya? And perhaps if you are not talking to him, give him another chance. He use use a wrong method to woo a girl. I don't think he deliberately trying to humiliate you or whatever
Well, i think, if you are reading this cuiwen. Don't feel sad anymore. See, at least you know that there is always people who care about you. Thats important ain't not? Also, you are sort of lucky because there are millions of singles out there like me, who don't even know whether got people like us or not. So don't feel sad anymore ya? And perhaps if you are not talking to him, give him another chance. He use use a wrong method to woo a girl. I don't think he deliberately trying to humiliate you or whatever
Friday, April 01, 2005
Terri schiavo
Exactly 2 weeks as predicted, terri schiavo is with her creator now. If like a true Desperate housewives fashion , what would she say while looking down at mother Earth? This 2 week has been gut wrenching for both Michael Schiavo, terri's family and terri alone. Humans in a persistant vegetarian state may lose their senses but their innate sense of going to die i believe, is not dead. They too can feel that they are going to die, not by the hand of god, but by the hand of human.
Theorically, old age death then, is considered dead by natural courses. However, terri's death is not even old age death, it is inflicted by the wills of the judical systems of america, her husband and her family, indirectly. So can we prosecute the parties which put a foot in for contributing her death? This is still a very complex issue.
Isn't it ironical that America, the country which advocate itself as a world of freedom and human rights, killed terri just in broad daylight. Don't tell me terri do not have a right to live and a freedom to stay alive.
Has the great american theory of freedom, human rights, supremacy of uncle sam went too far into its own head that it began to assume the duties of grim ripper and god? Invading sadaam backyard, accusing iran and north korea without any real evidences, getting itself out of the Kyoto treaty while condemning china for emitting too much carbon dioxide and now, killing its own citizen.
Back to terri's case. Michael Schiavo may seems to be the villian in this whole drama that span 15 yrs. But who know the agony of seeing your love one half dead, while still need to care for her. Human are creatures that need appreciation and reciprocation. He has care so much for his vegetarian state wife but the wife didn't even, or can't even give a loving touch to him. Such one way traffic i believe is what has make Michael on the path to pluck out the tube.
This case also point out to the flaws of the judical system of america. How come Michael is the guardian but not her parents? Is it due to that she adopt Michael surname and thats why the lawful guardian is Michael alone?
Also, i thought with Bush intervention, terri feeding tube could be re-inserted into her. Yet, to no avail. So it means the government is no more like a speck of dust? A figure that could start a war with just merely few sentences, are being drawfed by the judical system? Absurd.
If America still stuck up to its american dreams, i think it is on its way to destruction. Not by terrorist forces or china, but self destruct.
Theorically, old age death then, is considered dead by natural courses. However, terri's death is not even old age death, it is inflicted by the wills of the judical systems of america, her husband and her family, indirectly. So can we prosecute the parties which put a foot in for contributing her death? This is still a very complex issue.
Isn't it ironical that America, the country which advocate itself as a world of freedom and human rights, killed terri just in broad daylight. Don't tell me terri do not have a right to live and a freedom to stay alive.
Has the great american theory of freedom, human rights, supremacy of uncle sam went too far into its own head that it began to assume the duties of grim ripper and god? Invading sadaam backyard, accusing iran and north korea without any real evidences, getting itself out of the Kyoto treaty while condemning china for emitting too much carbon dioxide and now, killing its own citizen.
Back to terri's case. Michael Schiavo may seems to be the villian in this whole drama that span 15 yrs. But who know the agony of seeing your love one half dead, while still need to care for her. Human are creatures that need appreciation and reciprocation. He has care so much for his vegetarian state wife but the wife didn't even, or can't even give a loving touch to him. Such one way traffic i believe is what has make Michael on the path to pluck out the tube.
This case also point out to the flaws of the judical system of america. How come Michael is the guardian but not her parents? Is it due to that she adopt Michael surname and thats why the lawful guardian is Michael alone?
Also, i thought with Bush intervention, terri feeding tube could be re-inserted into her. Yet, to no avail. So it means the government is no more like a speck of dust? A figure that could start a war with just merely few sentences, are being drawfed by the judical system? Absurd.
If America still stuck up to its american dreams, i think it is on its way to destruction. Not by terrorist forces or china, but self destruct.
Trading
Long time ago, i have formed a theory in my head. I believe no matter how true and loyal a friendship is, it is based on the basis that either party can get something out of the other party and like a magnet, if they both have the same agenda, then a friendship is formed.
Friendship do not merely form out of nothing. There need to have a corner stone for it. A lot of cases actually do back up my theory. I have came to know this trio of friends whom are close and good friends sometime back. However, as they went on for their individual endearvours, the friendship seems easy to crack. Upon closer look at their friendship, one could notice that the corner stone of it was shopping, gossip and boys.
Therefore, such a weak foundation certainly doesn't build up a solid friendship.
When ever human make friend with another human, it is usually hoping to "fleece" the other party for something. When you are sad, you hope for a shoulder. And if the elements permit, a soul came by and you "fleece" him of his care and concern which he shower onto you.
That is my theory.
Now recently i read my friend post on how in NUS, those top students would form their own clusters and just build an invisible wall around themselves, perhaps even branding themselves as elite. I scoff off the idea that they are really friends. The corner stone i believe is hopping to "fleece" the intelligence. Behind every smile there surely be a knife.
My poor friend, who seems to be belittled by those self elite, find that no one is willing to do a barter trade with him. He, looking for some lifeline to his poor schoolwork. But in a true barter trade sense, one hope to gain from trading. Therefore, no one in Singapore premier school is willing except perhaps for the lecturers.
I do wish i could engage in a trade with him but me too, is on a lower frequency than required.
Friendship do not merely form out of nothing. There need to have a corner stone for it. A lot of cases actually do back up my theory. I have came to know this trio of friends whom are close and good friends sometime back. However, as they went on for their individual endearvours, the friendship seems easy to crack. Upon closer look at their friendship, one could notice that the corner stone of it was shopping, gossip and boys.
Therefore, such a weak foundation certainly doesn't build up a solid friendship.
When ever human make friend with another human, it is usually hoping to "fleece" the other party for something. When you are sad, you hope for a shoulder. And if the elements permit, a soul came by and you "fleece" him of his care and concern which he shower onto you.
That is my theory.
Now recently i read my friend post on how in NUS, those top students would form their own clusters and just build an invisible wall around themselves, perhaps even branding themselves as elite. I scoff off the idea that they are really friends. The corner stone i believe is hopping to "fleece" the intelligence. Behind every smile there surely be a knife.
My poor friend, who seems to be belittled by those self elite, find that no one is willing to do a barter trade with him. He, looking for some lifeline to his poor schoolwork. But in a true barter trade sense, one hope to gain from trading. Therefore, no one in Singapore premier school is willing except perhaps for the lecturers.
I do wish i could engage in a trade with him but me too, is on a lower frequency than required.
See.....
See....if you read newspapers recently, suddenly alot of govt men keep saying how people agree to casino, casino ok if can this can that....even MM say youngsters don't really care whether casino build here or not....i tell you...april 18...the ans will be a yes..like what i have predicted in my early entry.
p/s: if not...then this entry...i delete lo...ahha
p/s: if not...then this entry...i delete lo...ahha
Friday, March 18, 2005
Table 17
On 27th March, i will sit at table 17 with all my army friends, toasting yum seng for steven, another army friend. Its his wedding day and i had just received his wedding invitation card.
The feeling of having an invitation card is quite strange. When you flipped open, the usually childish( boys in army are all like that), boorish, un-goodlooking( the stupid army garb) friend of yours suddenly turned into a sauve young man. When you stare at the eyes of the groom in the wedding picture, you can sense that " ah...he is now a man, responsible young fella" and of course, the happiness in him. You look at the bride, yes, woman indeed look their best in their gown.
I have enter this decade called the young and swinging 20s. In another word, it means a decade of receiving wedding invitations. I think, before my turn of giving out invitation comes, i will countless ang bao already. Suddenly it all felt so strange. When i was young and was about to attend wedding dinners with my parents, they would keep pondering how much to put inside the red packet. Too much you hurt your own pocket but too little you are telling the whole world you are going for a cheap meal at a fancy restaurant.
Now, it become my turn to sratch my head and think what amount is the right amount.
But before i do it, yum seng, steven!
The feeling of having an invitation card is quite strange. When you flipped open, the usually childish( boys in army are all like that), boorish, un-goodlooking( the stupid army garb) friend of yours suddenly turned into a sauve young man. When you stare at the eyes of the groom in the wedding picture, you can sense that " ah...he is now a man, responsible young fella" and of course, the happiness in him. You look at the bride, yes, woman indeed look their best in their gown.
I have enter this decade called the young and swinging 20s. In another word, it means a decade of receiving wedding invitations. I think, before my turn of giving out invitation comes, i will countless ang bao already. Suddenly it all felt so strange. When i was young and was about to attend wedding dinners with my parents, they would keep pondering how much to put inside the red packet. Too much you hurt your own pocket but too little you are telling the whole world you are going for a cheap meal at a fancy restaurant.
Now, it become my turn to sratch my head and think what amount is the right amount.
But before i do it, yum seng, steven!
Sunday, March 13, 2005
We are all dead people
"I see dead people". Yes....the sixth sense. I watched it yesterday. An amazing movie by M night shyamalan. The story revolve around this kid who say he can see dead people and this doctor who cure it. The ulitmate twister is at the end of the show, when the doc himself realise he is dead already for over 1 year.
Anyway, i think this movie is rather philosophical. On the surface, it seems the doc help to cure the kid, but rather, it is the kid who help the doc instead. The doctor told the kid:" hear what those dead people want to say, they need help". Actually, the kid has been doing that, although to only one person and that is the doctor. The doctor need to sort of atone for his sin of mis diagnosing the guy who killed him. And here come the kid who is similiar to that guy whom killed malcom, the doc.
So in another word, the kid help the doc by letting the doc diagnose him.
Another part of which i like is how the kid says:" everybody just want to see what they want to see". Certainly, we are the one who really want to see what we want to see. We are the one to set the rules and regulation. Sometimes truth don't present itself very much as truth. Sad.
Anyway, i think this movie is rather philosophical. On the surface, it seems the doc help to cure the kid, but rather, it is the kid who help the doc instead. The doctor told the kid:" hear what those dead people want to say, they need help". Actually, the kid has been doing that, although to only one person and that is the doctor. The doctor need to sort of atone for his sin of mis diagnosing the guy who killed him. And here come the kid who is similiar to that guy whom killed malcom, the doc.
So in another word, the kid help the doc by letting the doc diagnose him.
Another part of which i like is how the kid says:" everybody just want to see what they want to see". Certainly, we are the one who really want to see what we want to see. We are the one to set the rules and regulation. Sometimes truth don't present itself very much as truth. Sad.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Biggest joke in parliment
Today i read the newspapers. NCMP Steve Chia asked a question which i think is damn stupid. He suggest that the allowance of MP to be tied to the number of questions each MP asked. Then one minister, forgot who he is, said if the allowance is to be cut, the first to be cut is the NCMP, which i think...hm...true.
Hai~...how come whenever the opposition ask a question, they always get shot down. It so paiseh. Our opposition still at its infant stage i think. Just too bad....just to bad. Anyway, i believe like i mentioned earlier, elections are coming. Perhaps after national day or the release of 3rd quarter economy forecast. It should be around november. I think so.
Hai~...how come whenever the opposition ask a question, they always get shot down. It so paiseh. Our opposition still at its infant stage i think. Just too bad....just to bad. Anyway, i believe like i mentioned earlier, elections are coming. Perhaps after national day or the release of 3rd quarter economy forecast. It should be around november. I think so.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
A case of paradox
Structural economy changes has swept Singapore. From a traditionally strong manufacturing and perhaps textile industry, we have slowly morph into one which is strong in bio-medical sciences and other higher end technology. However it means some workers has to be displaced in order to fulfill the majority.
"Lactura paucourm serva multos", meaning sacrifice a few for the sake of the others, was clearly adhered here. Education need alot of time and patience. Re-skilling our workers definitely need some time changing. The problem is, does our society allow for this to take place? Time and tide wait for no man, especially in a society in Singapore, a little fish constantly moving around in order to survive, such time can be a bane and a huge cost. However if we don't allocate this time for our workers, workers being the fuel for our economy engine, will instead, hinder the engine. Such is the delimma of changing the economy.
Recently, news makers start to talk about how we can retrain the old folks, raising retirement age or even be more protectionist by reserving some jobs for the old folks. Again, this time paradox came into place. I realise alot of people miss out the larger picture. The small picture is, when you start applying the protectionist idea of reserving jobs for old folks, you are not letting the market function by the invisible hand( read: Adam Smith). Market or economy could just be unstable and it won't show the true side to the demand and supply of workers for that kind of jobs catered, or should i say, protected. Wages too is affected. Health insurance, a huge cost, would also be incurred as the mortality charges of old people are higher. When company do that , they would need to find alternative way to make up for that incurred expenses and consumers durable prices may just increase.
However to me is, do Singapore really can allocate time for retraining, for patiences and for seeing results. Hardware wise, the government is doing a good job, setting up WDA in CDCs to help workers so that they can help themselves to retrain themselves. But as we grow older for which our level of comprehension slows, time taken to really learned is definitely longer than the youg workers.
Similarly in the old folks context, structural economy bring about changes. To retrain and re learn. One need time, the older, the more. But as i mentioned earlier that Singapore is a small fish which time must be grabbed fast, can we just slow down our pace for the changes to take place?
Recently one of my ex- colleague received his O level result. His score is dissapointing, to his own standard. But can he be blamed? Self personal time is making way for company expansion, for hitting deadline. Try telling to your boss that your own personal re-learning is crucial to Singapore' total growth and he will tell you one cow less doesn't make any changes to New Zealand milk production.
Even if this colleague of mine take up the daring path and quit his job in order to concentrate fully on studies for which he will get good result, can the society promised him with a job upon graduation or a pay that is on par to his educational level? I afraid at this present stituation, it is hard to satisfy.
Upgrade has been the word for us after HDB flats. But i would like to mention, this doesn't work if we ourselves are willing but our superiors doesn't believe in that. I rather milk dry this worker rather than him after getting higher education, leave the company or ask for higher pay.
If our workers do not re train to have the skills needed for the new economy, ultimately, our economy is the one which is going to suffer as human is the fuel for the growth. We need a core group make up of Singaporean in order to continue the running of our engines. Do you use lubricant to run your engine totally? No! Foreign talent are just like lubricants, they make it smoother only.
Singapore, beside encouraging its people to train, also need to see whether it really support wholeheartedly, and i mean, by slowing down the pace, giving time. But at that stituation, can we still catch up and survive?
"Lactura paucourm serva multos", meaning sacrifice a few for the sake of the others, was clearly adhered here. Education need alot of time and patience. Re-skilling our workers definitely need some time changing. The problem is, does our society allow for this to take place? Time and tide wait for no man, especially in a society in Singapore, a little fish constantly moving around in order to survive, such time can be a bane and a huge cost. However if we don't allocate this time for our workers, workers being the fuel for our economy engine, will instead, hinder the engine. Such is the delimma of changing the economy.
Recently, news makers start to talk about how we can retrain the old folks, raising retirement age or even be more protectionist by reserving some jobs for the old folks. Again, this time paradox came into place. I realise alot of people miss out the larger picture. The small picture is, when you start applying the protectionist idea of reserving jobs for old folks, you are not letting the market function by the invisible hand( read: Adam Smith). Market or economy could just be unstable and it won't show the true side to the demand and supply of workers for that kind of jobs catered, or should i say, protected. Wages too is affected. Health insurance, a huge cost, would also be incurred as the mortality charges of old people are higher. When company do that , they would need to find alternative way to make up for that incurred expenses and consumers durable prices may just increase.
However to me is, do Singapore really can allocate time for retraining, for patiences and for seeing results. Hardware wise, the government is doing a good job, setting up WDA in CDCs to help workers so that they can help themselves to retrain themselves. But as we grow older for which our level of comprehension slows, time taken to really learned is definitely longer than the youg workers.
Similarly in the old folks context, structural economy bring about changes. To retrain and re learn. One need time, the older, the more. But as i mentioned earlier that Singapore is a small fish which time must be grabbed fast, can we just slow down our pace for the changes to take place?
Recently one of my ex- colleague received his O level result. His score is dissapointing, to his own standard. But can he be blamed? Self personal time is making way for company expansion, for hitting deadline. Try telling to your boss that your own personal re-learning is crucial to Singapore' total growth and he will tell you one cow less doesn't make any changes to New Zealand milk production.
Even if this colleague of mine take up the daring path and quit his job in order to concentrate fully on studies for which he will get good result, can the society promised him with a job upon graduation or a pay that is on par to his educational level? I afraid at this present stituation, it is hard to satisfy.
Upgrade has been the word for us after HDB flats. But i would like to mention, this doesn't work if we ourselves are willing but our superiors doesn't believe in that. I rather milk dry this worker rather than him after getting higher education, leave the company or ask for higher pay.
If our workers do not re train to have the skills needed for the new economy, ultimately, our economy is the one which is going to suffer as human is the fuel for the growth. We need a core group make up of Singaporean in order to continue the running of our engines. Do you use lubricant to run your engine totally? No! Foreign talent are just like lubricants, they make it smoother only.
Singapore, beside encouraging its people to train, also need to see whether it really support wholeheartedly, and i mean, by slowing down the pace, giving time. But at that stituation, can we still catch up and survive?
Finding a balance between pay and low prices
(This article was written by US secretary of labor from 1993 to 1997. He is the author of Reason: Why Liberals will win the battle for America. Copy write: New York Times Syndicate)
By Robert Reich
Bowing to intense pressure from neighborhood and labor groups, a real estate developer has just given up plans to include a Wal-Mart store in a mall in Queens, thereby blocking Wal-Mart's plan to open its first store in New York City. In the eyes of Wal0Mart's detractors, the chain embodies the worst kind of economic exploitation: It pays its 1.2 million American workers an average of only US $9.68 an hour, does not provide most of them with health insurance, keeps out unions and has a checkered history on labor law.
But isn't Wal-Mart really being punished for our sins? After all, it is not as if it created the world's largest retailer by putting a gun to our heads and forcing us to shop there. Instead, Wal- Mart has lured customers with low prices.
Wal-Mart may have perfected this technique, but you can find it almost everywhere these days. Corporations are in fierce competition to get and keep customers, so they pass the bulk of their cost cuts through to consumers as lower prices. Products are made in China at a fraction of the cost of making them here, and American consumers get great deals. Back- office work, along with computer programming and data crunching, is ‘’off shored’’ to India, so our dollars go even further.
Meanwhile, we pressure companies to give us even better bargains.
The fact is, today’s economy offers us a Faustian bargain: it can give consumers deals because it hammers workers and communities.
We can blame big corporations, but we are mostly making this bargain with ourselves. The easier it is for us to get great deals, the stronger the downward pressure on wages and benefits. Last year, the real wages of hourly workers, who make up about 80% of the workforce, dropped for the first time in more than a decade. The easier it is for us to find better professional services, the harder professionals have to hustle to attract and keep client. The more efficiently we can buy products worldwide, the more stress we put on our own communities.
But we are not just consumers. We are also workers and citizens. How do we strike the right balance? To claim that people should not go to Wal-Mart or look for cut-rate airfares or services or shop on the Internet is paternalistic tripe. No one is a better judge of what people want than they themselves.
The problem is, the choices we make in the market do not fully reflect our values as workers or as citizens. I did not want our community bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to close (as it did) yet I still bought books from Amazon.com. We may not see the larger bargain when our own job is not directly affected. I do not like what is happening to airline workers, but I still try for the cheapest fare I can get.
The only way for the workers or citizens in us to trump the consumers in us is through laws and regulations that make our purchases a social choice as well as a personal one.
A requirement that companies with more than 50 employees offer their workers affordable health insurance, for example, might increase slightly the price of their goods and services. My inner consumer will not like that very much, but the worker in me thinks it a fair price to pay. Same with a rise in the minimum wage or a change in labor laws making it easier for employees to negotiate better terms.
I would not go so far as to re-regulate the airline industry or hobble free trade with China and India, but I would like the government to offer wage insurance to ease the pain of sudden losses of pay. And I would support labor standards that make trade agreements a bit fairer.
These provisions might end up costing me some money, but the citizen in me thinks they are worth the price. You might think differently, but as a nation we are not even having this sort of discussion. Instead, our debates about economic change take place between two warring camps: Those who want the best consumer deals, and those who want to preserve jobs and communities much as they are. Indeed finding ways to soften the blows, compensate the losers or slow the pace of change- so the consumers in us can enjoy lower prices and better products without wreaking too much damage on us in our role as workers- we go to battle.
I do not know if Wal- Mart will ever make it into New York. I do know that New Yorkers, like most other American, want the great deals that can be had in a globalising high-tech economy. Yet the prices on sales tags do not reflect the full prices we have to pay as workers and citizens. A sensible public debate would focus on how to make that total price as low as possible.
Published in Straits Times, march 1st, 2005
By Robert Reich
Bowing to intense pressure from neighborhood and labor groups, a real estate developer has just given up plans to include a Wal-Mart store in a mall in Queens, thereby blocking Wal-Mart's plan to open its first store in New York City. In the eyes of Wal0Mart's detractors, the chain embodies the worst kind of economic exploitation: It pays its 1.2 million American workers an average of only US $9.68 an hour, does not provide most of them with health insurance, keeps out unions and has a checkered history on labor law.
But isn't Wal-Mart really being punished for our sins? After all, it is not as if it created the world's largest retailer by putting a gun to our heads and forcing us to shop there. Instead, Wal- Mart has lured customers with low prices.
Wal-Mart may have perfected this technique, but you can find it almost everywhere these days. Corporations are in fierce competition to get and keep customers, so they pass the bulk of their cost cuts through to consumers as lower prices. Products are made in China at a fraction of the cost of making them here, and American consumers get great deals. Back- office work, along with computer programming and data crunching, is ‘’off shored’’ to India, so our dollars go even further.
Meanwhile, we pressure companies to give us even better bargains.
The fact is, today’s economy offers us a Faustian bargain: it can give consumers deals because it hammers workers and communities.
We can blame big corporations, but we are mostly making this bargain with ourselves. The easier it is for us to get great deals, the stronger the downward pressure on wages and benefits. Last year, the real wages of hourly workers, who make up about 80% of the workforce, dropped for the first time in more than a decade. The easier it is for us to find better professional services, the harder professionals have to hustle to attract and keep client. The more efficiently we can buy products worldwide, the more stress we put on our own communities.
But we are not just consumers. We are also workers and citizens. How do we strike the right balance? To claim that people should not go to Wal-Mart or look for cut-rate airfares or services or shop on the Internet is paternalistic tripe. No one is a better judge of what people want than they themselves.
The problem is, the choices we make in the market do not fully reflect our values as workers or as citizens. I did not want our community bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to close (as it did) yet I still bought books from Amazon.com. We may not see the larger bargain when our own job is not directly affected. I do not like what is happening to airline workers, but I still try for the cheapest fare I can get.
The only way for the workers or citizens in us to trump the consumers in us is through laws and regulations that make our purchases a social choice as well as a personal one.
A requirement that companies with more than 50 employees offer their workers affordable health insurance, for example, might increase slightly the price of their goods and services. My inner consumer will not like that very much, but the worker in me thinks it a fair price to pay. Same with a rise in the minimum wage or a change in labor laws making it easier for employees to negotiate better terms.
I would not go so far as to re-regulate the airline industry or hobble free trade with China and India, but I would like the government to offer wage insurance to ease the pain of sudden losses of pay. And I would support labor standards that make trade agreements a bit fairer.
These provisions might end up costing me some money, but the citizen in me thinks they are worth the price. You might think differently, but as a nation we are not even having this sort of discussion. Instead, our debates about economic change take place between two warring camps: Those who want the best consumer deals, and those who want to preserve jobs and communities much as they are. Indeed finding ways to soften the blows, compensate the losers or slow the pace of change- so the consumers in us can enjoy lower prices and better products without wreaking too much damage on us in our role as workers- we go to battle.
I do not know if Wal- Mart will ever make it into New York. I do know that New Yorkers, like most other American, want the great deals that can be had in a globalising high-tech economy. Yet the prices on sales tags do not reflect the full prices we have to pay as workers and citizens. A sensible public debate would focus on how to make that total price as low as possible.
Published in Straits Times, march 1st, 2005
Monday, February 28, 2005
I don't believe in Democracy
Ok this is an entry is for me to let of steam. I was so pissed today by one of my group members. Perhaps i need to evaluate my tone of speech also. I sincerely and firmly believe there shouldn't be any democracy in a group project. The leader should dictate all, dish out roles. When you are choosing a leader, you are not choosing a puppet. You are the other half of the hand which respond when the hand wants to clap. You take down order from the leader, and do it efficiently. Deadline is tight, there is definitely no time for you to engage in some parlimentary debate. Autocratic system should be practice here, not democracy.
I discussed with my leader and we come up with jobs that are going to be allocated to the members. Everything is based on the individual's ability. For instance, if your maths is lousy and your economics is good, you would definitely be placed doing some economics related stuff instead of perhaps, doing some calculation for your project. So what do you do when one of your members decides he is better in maths than economics and want to do the maths part which his result doesn't justify it? What would you do?
I really don't know. For the betterment of the group, i feel like forcing the bitter pill inside the throat. You may call my authoritative but i do it with a reason. When i allocate, of course i allocate based on your forte. Why would i jeapordise the group's performance and allocate you some job which i know you are not up to the task? If i do that, i am a fatatous leader!
Like Minster Mentor said once:" a good policy may not be a popular one". I totally agree. You may not agree with what i do but i certainly know its for the good of everybody.
Swallow it.
I discussed with my leader and we come up with jobs that are going to be allocated to the members. Everything is based on the individual's ability. For instance, if your maths is lousy and your economics is good, you would definitely be placed doing some economics related stuff instead of perhaps, doing some calculation for your project. So what do you do when one of your members decides he is better in maths than economics and want to do the maths part which his result doesn't justify it? What would you do?
I really don't know. For the betterment of the group, i feel like forcing the bitter pill inside the throat. You may call my authoritative but i do it with a reason. When i allocate, of course i allocate based on your forte. Why would i jeapordise the group's performance and allocate you some job which i know you are not up to the task? If i do that, i am a fatatous leader!
Like Minster Mentor said once:" a good policy may not be a popular one". I totally agree. You may not agree with what i do but i certainly know its for the good of everybody.
Swallow it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Casino
The debate on Casino has been going on quite a while. It bring back memories when "score", the football betting system was being mooted in the parliment. The same old story goes that a lot of Singaporean are going overseas, internet bet placing site to place their football bet. So why not we ourselves start one? The government heed to this chinese idiom that is literally translated as fertelised water shouldn't let outsiders use. It mean be selfish actually. So instead of letting illegal bookies or whoever to accept bet, the government accept it.
I remembered alot of controversy was stirred in the football betting parlimentary discussion. Some pragmatic or should i called them money minded MP put a tick to the idea. Some moralist or so-called say no to it. Religion bodies throw their weight behind those moralist. The main leads, the punters were less concerned. Question them they would tell you:" oh the garment sure got way", an ideal and typical Singaporean reply. They are sitting on the fence.
Feedback collected, provided yours didn't cross the OB markers. But no matter how many petitions were signed, the idea was still passed. The lame reason i think is that it can revive the S-league with the betting system as the punters need to support their team as they stake their family fortunes on it. But well well, just peer at the stadium in front of your home while reading this article, look at the numbers of people who turned up, watching S league. They could never matched the numbers that supported Singapore during the M cup heyday.
Slowly slowly, Score began to accept bet for overseas match, i believe, because it was more "profitable". What an irony for a system that is set up supposedly to support local footballing scene.
I think history is going to repeats itself again with the casino debate. If it is just a simple debate which was being assured as just only a debate now, can attract so many investors with plans on how to set up a casino here and run them well? It isn't just building sand castle in thin air but building casino in marina bay!
I think casino is here to come, whether you like it or not, looking at the past history. Alot of people actually want it thinking it will reduce taxes and what have you. However looking at Score again, i would like to remind people that the 3% of GST has risen to 5%. So do you think it will lower any taxes?
On the other hand, some want to keep casino out in order to keep out the undesirable socially diseases like vice. But aren't you just building a house without windows because you scared the fly may come in? If Singaporean can't even exercise their own curb, draw their own boundary and remain sheltered and give that "Govt will take good care of it" reply, have we really matured as a society? I don't think so.
While the good side of me want to keep casino out, the other side of me tell me i should support the idea, thinking i haven't pull any trigger of any jackpot machine before.
I remembered alot of controversy was stirred in the football betting parlimentary discussion. Some pragmatic or should i called them money minded MP put a tick to the idea. Some moralist or so-called say no to it. Religion bodies throw their weight behind those moralist. The main leads, the punters were less concerned. Question them they would tell you:" oh the garment sure got way", an ideal and typical Singaporean reply. They are sitting on the fence.
Feedback collected, provided yours didn't cross the OB markers. But no matter how many petitions were signed, the idea was still passed. The lame reason i think is that it can revive the S-league with the betting system as the punters need to support their team as they stake their family fortunes on it. But well well, just peer at the stadium in front of your home while reading this article, look at the numbers of people who turned up, watching S league. They could never matched the numbers that supported Singapore during the M cup heyday.
Slowly slowly, Score began to accept bet for overseas match, i believe, because it was more "profitable". What an irony for a system that is set up supposedly to support local footballing scene.
I think history is going to repeats itself again with the casino debate. If it is just a simple debate which was being assured as just only a debate now, can attract so many investors with plans on how to set up a casino here and run them well? It isn't just building sand castle in thin air but building casino in marina bay!
I think casino is here to come, whether you like it or not, looking at the past history. Alot of people actually want it thinking it will reduce taxes and what have you. However looking at Score again, i would like to remind people that the 3% of GST has risen to 5%. So do you think it will lower any taxes?
On the other hand, some want to keep casino out in order to keep out the undesirable socially diseases like vice. But aren't you just building a house without windows because you scared the fly may come in? If Singaporean can't even exercise their own curb, draw their own boundary and remain sheltered and give that "Govt will take good care of it" reply, have we really matured as a society? I don't think so.
While the good side of me want to keep casino out, the other side of me tell me i should support the idea, thinking i haven't pull any trigger of any jackpot machine before.
sleeping in various places
I love sleeping. I really do. Everyday i slept at 10.30pm, or 2230hrs in army term. However i started to sleep at 10.30pm way before i was enlisted. My mum forced me to sleep early as she was afraid i might be listless during classes on the next day. I guess over the years, it becomes my sleeping habit. If i do not sleep at 10.30, i can feel my brain stop functioning. It become evident when i am doing maths questions( another of my past time). Whenever the clock strike 12, the questions in front of me suddenly become so unfamiliar. Acute and immediate dementia sets in and i would feel like a zombie, restrained by some supernatural forces which prevent me from conquering differentiation.
But of course i am not going to go into details of sleeping. But rather places where i will sleep. I enjoyed sleeping on my bed. Its actually my parent matrimonial bed. But i siphoned to my room. A king size bed for myself. When i was young, i began to sleep on that bed when my parents just place me there and cajole me to sleep. I am a kind of person who need to be in a familiar environment in order to sleep. The bed was my comfort and my hypnotiser. Without it, i can't sleep. But i sort of grow out of it and return the bed to my parents when i was around primary 6. Occassionally, i would still steal a nap on it. Although the bed was quite old, as old as me, but i refuses to let my parent change to a new one. I am not the kind of person to ditch the old for new.
Beside home, the next most comfy place is the MRT seats. I just love sleeping in the MRT. The habit was formed when i was travelling from Tampines to ayer rajah camp. Woke up at 5.30am, so its kind of tired and i would just sleep on the train. I would start sleeping from Red Hill station, after reading the straits times and alighted at Chinese Garden. Yes you guessed it, i overshot my station. But to me it was great to just rest your head on the glass panel, and doze off. Of course not every seats on the MRT is for sleeping. I recommand the seats near the door, with the glass panel. First they are sheltered from the sunlight, next, don't you think the seats at the size are more spacious? The glass panels are good for resting your head. But do make sure the panels are clean. Sometimes you can find nasal mucus on it, be it dried or wet.
I just love sleeping. I do not know why. Perhaps my zodiac sign, Pig, has to do with my indulgence with sleeping.
But of course i am not going to go into details of sleeping. But rather places where i will sleep. I enjoyed sleeping on my bed. Its actually my parent matrimonial bed. But i siphoned to my room. A king size bed for myself. When i was young, i began to sleep on that bed when my parents just place me there and cajole me to sleep. I am a kind of person who need to be in a familiar environment in order to sleep. The bed was my comfort and my hypnotiser. Without it, i can't sleep. But i sort of grow out of it and return the bed to my parents when i was around primary 6. Occassionally, i would still steal a nap on it. Although the bed was quite old, as old as me, but i refuses to let my parent change to a new one. I am not the kind of person to ditch the old for new.
Beside home, the next most comfy place is the MRT seats. I just love sleeping in the MRT. The habit was formed when i was travelling from Tampines to ayer rajah camp. Woke up at 5.30am, so its kind of tired and i would just sleep on the train. I would start sleeping from Red Hill station, after reading the straits times and alighted at Chinese Garden. Yes you guessed it, i overshot my station. But to me it was great to just rest your head on the glass panel, and doze off. Of course not every seats on the MRT is for sleeping. I recommand the seats near the door, with the glass panel. First they are sheltered from the sunlight, next, don't you think the seats at the size are more spacious? The glass panels are good for resting your head. But do make sure the panels are clean. Sometimes you can find nasal mucus on it, be it dried or wet.
I just love sleeping. I do not know why. Perhaps my zodiac sign, Pig, has to do with my indulgence with sleeping.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Shallow Hal
I have just watched Shallow Hal on tv. Let me give a brief summary on what is the show all about. There is this guy call hal, who always wanted to date pretty hot babe. However, he failed miserably because practically all the women in the world feel that he is so shallow, based on looks and date people. One day in a lift, he met Anthony Robbins, the guru who wrote countless books and charge per person thousand plus for his seminar. This guru then sort of hypnotise him so that Hal, instead of viewing girls and judging them by their looks, he will look at them differently, by looking at their inner beauty. So this Hal guy met Rosemary, a little overweight girl. But in his eyes, she is a georgeous babe( thats y thet ask paltrow to act, bodoh!). The went out and fall in love. But one day, Hal best friend, de-hypnotise Hal and Hal began to wake up. But in the end, he still accept Rosemary as he finally know what true love is all about.
Now i am going to give my 2-cent worth on the story. I think everybody has alittle bit of Hal inside us. When is the time where we do not give a second look to things that are beautiful? I have read a book that says, guys like woman to be buxomy not because of anything, but because it signify the good ability of pro-creation and of course, the badge of that she is a true woman. It is, i can say, a human basic instinct that we always will give good lookers, good looking object more credits than they should have.
If our moms goes to the grocers, they would also choose the orange base on the skin, perhaps, the more orange the orange look like , the sweeter? Try telling your mom that " hey, the worm hole suggest that it is sweet thats why the worm will blah blah blah" and i bet she will tell you to buzz off.
Although there is a bit of Hal in everyone of us, i think we do need to reflect on ourselves is that, is your bit of Hal bigger than my bit? When you see couple, each of them blessed with good looks, can you straight away jump to the conclusion that they each are Hal and when you see a couple, who perhaps, the male is not too good looking but the female is pretty, say that yes, thats not a Hal couple.
I do not really have the answer to that because the person i like is pretty and like i said, i like her. So do that make me a shallow person also?
But what i do know is that like what Robbins said in the movie:" we are all hypnotised by the society, by the world. The movies, magazines, tvs are telling you what is beauty and what is not. But is that a real answer to what beauty is all about?"
A couple of months back, i read in one of the blogs available by this girl. She wrote:" all of you chasing xxx should back off, take a good look in the mirror..." When she wrote about the mirror part, i feel that, she is based on looks and thats all. True perhaps she want the best for her friend and that "take a good look in the mirror" is just a sentence meaning undeserving guys should just back off.
But the ultimate feeling of this girl just based on looks keep creeping on me. I hope her friend is not like her.
Now i am going to give my 2-cent worth on the story. I think everybody has alittle bit of Hal inside us. When is the time where we do not give a second look to things that are beautiful? I have read a book that says, guys like woman to be buxomy not because of anything, but because it signify the good ability of pro-creation and of course, the badge of that she is a true woman. It is, i can say, a human basic instinct that we always will give good lookers, good looking object more credits than they should have.
If our moms goes to the grocers, they would also choose the orange base on the skin, perhaps, the more orange the orange look like , the sweeter? Try telling your mom that " hey, the worm hole suggest that it is sweet thats why the worm will blah blah blah" and i bet she will tell you to buzz off.
Although there is a bit of Hal in everyone of us, i think we do need to reflect on ourselves is that, is your bit of Hal bigger than my bit? When you see couple, each of them blessed with good looks, can you straight away jump to the conclusion that they each are Hal and when you see a couple, who perhaps, the male is not too good looking but the female is pretty, say that yes, thats not a Hal couple.
I do not really have the answer to that because the person i like is pretty and like i said, i like her. So do that make me a shallow person also?
But what i do know is that like what Robbins said in the movie:" we are all hypnotised by the society, by the world. The movies, magazines, tvs are telling you what is beauty and what is not. But is that a real answer to what beauty is all about?"
A couple of months back, i read in one of the blogs available by this girl. She wrote:" all of you chasing xxx should back off, take a good look in the mirror..." When she wrote about the mirror part, i feel that, she is based on looks and thats all. True perhaps she want the best for her friend and that "take a good look in the mirror" is just a sentence meaning undeserving guys should just back off.
But the ultimate feeling of this girl just based on looks keep creeping on me. I hope her friend is not like her.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
finished another dan brown book
Yup, after da vinci code, angel and demons, i had finished deception point. Unlike the other two, which is mainly base on christianity, the holy grail, the deception point is more of a scientific thriller.
I have always amazed by how dan brown wrote. Hi story or rather his style you can really guess by the time you read another book of his. Its always this main lead who will on the course of investigating, come to know this another second lead who will always be the god-send kind of guy/gal to the main lead. This second lead will also be the life saver of the first lead, saving him/her always from the danger. The the baddy will be someone close to the lead always.
The story will end, with the 2 lead making love( although it isn't a erotic book, but one could guess by his use of words and descriptive sentences)
What intrigue my mind is his research. This author really go and research everything he wrote. So i don't mind reading his book although i know his style.
Dan Brown is my kind of author who treat readers with respect by his research. Way to go!
Oh yah, today is CNY day 1, selamat tahun baru cina to everyone and gong hei fuck choi! haha
I have always amazed by how dan brown wrote. Hi story or rather his style you can really guess by the time you read another book of his. Its always this main lead who will on the course of investigating, come to know this another second lead who will always be the god-send kind of guy/gal to the main lead. This second lead will also be the life saver of the first lead, saving him/her always from the danger. The the baddy will be someone close to the lead always.
The story will end, with the 2 lead making love( although it isn't a erotic book, but one could guess by his use of words and descriptive sentences)
What intrigue my mind is his research. This author really go and research everything he wrote. So i don't mind reading his book although i know his style.
Dan Brown is my kind of author who treat readers with respect by his research. Way to go!
Oh yah, today is CNY day 1, selamat tahun baru cina to everyone and gong hei fuck choi! haha
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Don't make the same mistake of abolishing Singlish altogether
In the early sisties and seventies, our grandparents and parents grew up to shows helm by Wang Sa and ye Fong, the duo were the hottest comedy stars in Singapore, i can say they can be comparable to Jack Neo and Moses Lim. The reason of why the duo can reached to the masses easily and successfully perhaps is the usage of dialects. Dialects were spoken by many of the Chinese in Singapore. The early immrigants usually herd together like flocks of Sheeps determined by the dialect that they spoken. Clans were set up for each respective dialect group.
However the government decided to abolish dialect shows altogether to suits the Speak Mandarin Campaign. Wang Sa and Ye Fong were forced to retire prematurely. The Speak Mandarin Campaign were quite successful to a certain extent. Now, except for vulgarities, none of the chinese speak Dialect. Throw them some dialect words and they can't dicepher what is the meaning. Communication with their dialect speaking grandparents were thus lost and one way or another, the abolishment of speaking dialect contributed to the generation gap between grandchildren and grandparents.
Recently, the government i believe, decided to revive dialect speaking bit by bit, discreetly. They can't really do it openly as it would mean backtracking. We can see the opening up by speaking of dialect in movies like The best bet, Money no enough and tv sitcom like Don't worry be happy. Majority is Chinese entertainment shows that have dialects.
So in what comparison do it have with Singlish? Plenty.
Speak good english campaign was started in the late 90s when the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signalled Phua Chu Kang, the sitcom, as a rather bad influence to the youngsters for its overly use of singlish. Immediately, the producers of Phua chu Kang changed the sitcom to suits the government agenda.
I firmly believe, the abolishment of Singlish is too big a mistake and perhaps costly. What really bind people together is not their skin color, not the way the dress, but their religion and language.
Religion like i said previously, is a powerful tool to mankind. I believe anyone can see that when a fellow muslim see another muslim, he will walk up to him and shake his hand. Such is the binding force of religion to the individuals. Osama has an important tool to dispose of, that is religion. We can see how fast and widely spread the Al Queda speads its tenticles. Around the world not only the Arabs are muslim, but also the Malays, the indonesian, a few handful of chinese decent and caucasian. The fact that a non arab is willing to blow up himself on a plane proves that religion has surpass the skin factor and culture.
Langugage is the most crucial form of communication. Whenever we are of same race, we tend to speak in our mother tongue. Even if we have one or two friends of different races with us, we still tend to speak in our mother tongue as it just come out naturally. It is of such cases that our friends of different races can pick up our mother tongue fast.
Singapore is make up of a very diverse array of people, each with his own religion, culture and language. The chinese alone have embraced christianity, taoism, buddhist and what have you. The malay have Islam as their religion with some embracing other religons. Same goes to Indian.
We can't really force everyone to have a single religion as it will be a breech of human rights and disregard and disrespect to the religions that were not chosen to be the forced religion of Singapore.
What i want to say is that racial harmony is more than having school performance on july 21th every year. It is not just reciting the pledge, affirming racial harmony either. It goes beyond that.
Racial harmony can never exist flawlessly as there are just too many factors to be considered. What we can do is to make it near flawless.
Therefore, imposing the same religion to make the people homogeneous at least, in their faith is out of the question. Same goes to changing the skin color or even each individual culture.
Therefore, Singlish is needed actually to bind us together. If the Anglo Saxon can import french word, latin, spanish or even chinese word and phrases into English, i see why we can't import our Lah Lor Leh into our unique brand of English.
Singlish in this era, doesn't serve the purpose of communicating anymore. It serve a more divine and practical purpose, to bind the races together. It is an language which every Singaporean have with him, inborn. It is an language which set us at ease when we communicate. It is a language which we can converse easily without any miscommunication and most importantly, it is a language which is made in Singapore.
In this country where everything is imported, from ideas to food to cultures, we badly need a unique entity which we can really call it our own. I see no other things except Singlish.
To abolish Singlish is a grave mistake not to be repeated like abolishing dialects. No singlish could mean racial ties are in fact, weaken. English is the language of business, Malay is the offical Language and i think Singlish is the racial harmony language.
However the government decided to abolish dialect shows altogether to suits the Speak Mandarin Campaign. Wang Sa and Ye Fong were forced to retire prematurely. The Speak Mandarin Campaign were quite successful to a certain extent. Now, except for vulgarities, none of the chinese speak Dialect. Throw them some dialect words and they can't dicepher what is the meaning. Communication with their dialect speaking grandparents were thus lost and one way or another, the abolishment of speaking dialect contributed to the generation gap between grandchildren and grandparents.
Recently, the government i believe, decided to revive dialect speaking bit by bit, discreetly. They can't really do it openly as it would mean backtracking. We can see the opening up by speaking of dialect in movies like The best bet, Money no enough and tv sitcom like Don't worry be happy. Majority is Chinese entertainment shows that have dialects.
So in what comparison do it have with Singlish? Plenty.
Speak good english campaign was started in the late 90s when the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signalled Phua Chu Kang, the sitcom, as a rather bad influence to the youngsters for its overly use of singlish. Immediately, the producers of Phua chu Kang changed the sitcom to suits the government agenda.
I firmly believe, the abolishment of Singlish is too big a mistake and perhaps costly. What really bind people together is not their skin color, not the way the dress, but their religion and language.
Religion like i said previously, is a powerful tool to mankind. I believe anyone can see that when a fellow muslim see another muslim, he will walk up to him and shake his hand. Such is the binding force of religion to the individuals. Osama has an important tool to dispose of, that is religion. We can see how fast and widely spread the Al Queda speads its tenticles. Around the world not only the Arabs are muslim, but also the Malays, the indonesian, a few handful of chinese decent and caucasian. The fact that a non arab is willing to blow up himself on a plane proves that religion has surpass the skin factor and culture.
Langugage is the most crucial form of communication. Whenever we are of same race, we tend to speak in our mother tongue. Even if we have one or two friends of different races with us, we still tend to speak in our mother tongue as it just come out naturally. It is of such cases that our friends of different races can pick up our mother tongue fast.
Singapore is make up of a very diverse array of people, each with his own religion, culture and language. The chinese alone have embraced christianity, taoism, buddhist and what have you. The malay have Islam as their religion with some embracing other religons. Same goes to Indian.
We can't really force everyone to have a single religion as it will be a breech of human rights and disregard and disrespect to the religions that were not chosen to be the forced religion of Singapore.
What i want to say is that racial harmony is more than having school performance on july 21th every year. It is not just reciting the pledge, affirming racial harmony either. It goes beyond that.
Racial harmony can never exist flawlessly as there are just too many factors to be considered. What we can do is to make it near flawless.
Therefore, imposing the same religion to make the people homogeneous at least, in their faith is out of the question. Same goes to changing the skin color or even each individual culture.
Therefore, Singlish is needed actually to bind us together. If the Anglo Saxon can import french word, latin, spanish or even chinese word and phrases into English, i see why we can't import our Lah Lor Leh into our unique brand of English.
Singlish in this era, doesn't serve the purpose of communicating anymore. It serve a more divine and practical purpose, to bind the races together. It is an language which every Singaporean have with him, inborn. It is an language which set us at ease when we communicate. It is a language which we can converse easily without any miscommunication and most importantly, it is a language which is made in Singapore.
In this country where everything is imported, from ideas to food to cultures, we badly need a unique entity which we can really call it our own. I see no other things except Singlish.
To abolish Singlish is a grave mistake not to be repeated like abolishing dialects. No singlish could mean racial ties are in fact, weaken. English is the language of business, Malay is the offical Language and i think Singlish is the racial harmony language.
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