Category: Rants

Random Thoughts – Immigrants, Citizenship & Singlish

Leave a comment

In my previous article I mentioned the concern of a friend who mentioned that an increase in homosexuals may further impact the birthrate in Singapore. The end result maybe even further relaxing of immigration laws to maintain our population growth. While the many Singaporeans who remain single, and those who are married but do not intend to have children ‘contribute’ most to the low birthrate, I am sure most of us can agree that we do not need another factor to aggravate the problem.

The other concern is having more foreign immigrants may only set back our nation building and increase the level of disharmony in our society since new immigrants may not respect our traditions, our values and our way of life. This reminded me of a really minor incident that happened several weeks ago at a handphone shop in People’s Park Complex, though this probably did not involve individual(s) who recently obtained Singapore citizenship.

Excerpts: April 28, 2009 (Tue) [The NewPaper NudePaper]
In Singapore, it is not uncommon to hear someone address a female stranger as ‘xiao jie’ [小姐, miss in Mandarin].

But that was also what got him into hot water with the woman, a Chinese national.

Why?

In China, the term ‘xiao jie’ is often used to mean ‘prostitute’. It is seen as disrespectful to address a woman as ‘xiao jie’ there. (See report below.)

I find it amusing that a salesman who addressed a woman from China who walked by his shop as ‘xiao jie’ got him into hot water. Not to mention that the report mentioned that the salesman who called out to her came from Malaysia. If I hadn’t read through the article, I would have thought this to be a case of mistaken identity by some local Ah Beng in a second hand mobile phone shop either in City Plaza near Paya Lebar MRT or some old shop houses in Geylang.

What the heck, really? For ages Singaporeans addresses ladies as ‘xiao jie’ out of courtesy. No one has taught us that it meant anything offensive – be it night club hostess or prostitute. The fact that it has independently evolved in China to carry those negative connotations doesn’t mean it applies here as well! There is certainly no special meaning behind that term nor is there any intention to insult by doing so. Perhaps, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) should work with the Chinese Embassy on some familiarisation courses for PRC (People’s Republic of China) citizens coming to Singapore to avoid such misunderstanding. Or as another friend jokingly say, have this said in the announcement on incoming flights: possession and trafficking of drugs in Singapore carries the death sentence, and in Singapore ‘xiao jie’ is a polite term and does not mean prostitute。 [在新加坡拥有和走私毒品可能处以死刑，还有小姐在新加坡是友善的称呼，并没有妓女的意思。].

Funny, but it is such incidents that convinced my friend and I in some way, that an increase in immigrants will only retard our nation building efforts. It had already worried us when a woman during the AWARE EOGM said she has no confidence in a dominantly Christian and Chinese ExCo in taking care of her concerns. To me, this person is the testimony that 44 years after our separation from Malaysia, Singaporeans remained independent of one another due to our race and religion. By making that comment, this person had trampled upon our national pledge. With this in mind, we are concerned that an further increase in foreign immigrants will only add or amplify another problem: former nationality.

It is reasonable that some of us will be concerned with the loyalty of new citizens. In fact, not too long ago I was told an Indonesian undergrad in one of our local universities complained about her Indonesian citizenship, and expressed her desire to be a Singaporean – simply because of the difficulty to obtain visas to enter the Russian Federation as a result of her Indonesian nationality.

Several days later, the same undergrad accused the Singapore authorities of covering up in the case of NTU Student David Widjaja. The best part here is, she is not a NTU student but had expressed ‘outrage’ at the local authorities even before the investigations are completed simply because she is also Indonesian. Granted she isn’t a former Indonesian turned Singaporean (yet!), but we are reasonably worried that some new immigrants would behave likewise, and share such sentiments when it comes to cases involving people of their former nationality. If such people applied for Singapore citizenship merely for the matter of convenience, and they are actually granted citizenship, it would only debase its value. To me personally, it further reinforces the impression that serving National Service is really nothing more than a monumental waste of time.

Fortunately, my friends and I have not come across new citizens who are derisive of Singapore while they remain proud of their former nationality. But if there is ever such a day, I can only say we have ourselves to blame. There is a Chinese term for that and it is called 犯贱. I am not good with translation, but I think it carries the meaning of debasing one self, asking to be looked down upon and getting it all rolled together.

Sadly, it appears to me we are awarding citizenship not on merit but simply by the immigrants’ education level and his / her expected economic value to Singapore. As long as they have stayed here long enough, simply being a graduate, or making a certain amount of money would almost automatically ensures success in citizenship application.

Anyway, before I end, let me say this, stop beating down Singlish – it is the only thing that is a true product of our nation building, even though it may not have been intended and merely a by-product as a result of the integration of the cultures of our people. It gives us the identity as Singaporeans and is truly the one thing that we can really call our own. It is not shameful or dirty!

To emphasize, the Malaysians I chat with over Windows Live Messenger or exchange emails within the Kuwakchai game writes in a mix of Cantonese, Hokkien, Malay and English. To me it adds color and flavor to the conversation and it gives them an identity distinct from ours. So, the language nazis can go do to themselves the anatomically impossible and ease up on our true national language – Singlish.

Jokes:
Lothlorien: FAQ – Mas Selamat Recaptured

Daily Discourse: CSE and the role of MOE

S. Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Education, gave parents the following advice when he was asked about the criticised CSE (Comprehensive Sexuality Education) programme:

Get your facts right on what is happening in Singapore schools when it comes to sex education, and do not base comments on ‘innuendo or information received on the fly’.

It is sad that this comment came from my favorite minister. Ironically, the above comment would somewhat also apply to Mr Iswaran himself, now that the CSE has been suspended by the MOE (Ministry of Education) after a thorough investigation.

I would really hope that Mr Iswaran had gave the above advise only because he was replying on the fly, sort of a knee-jerk action to defend his ministry and not because he was ill-advised by officials ‘ocifails’ working under him. If it was the latter case, then the individual(s) responsible for stumbling my favorite minister should be investigated and dealt with like those who were found to be responsible for the screw-ups leading to Mas Selamat’s escape.

Anyway, Mr Iswaran justified the ministry’s lack of action by because it had not received any complaints about CSE, and thus had no reason to intervene. Did the minister actually think the lack of complaints mean parents are aware of what their children has been taught in school?

It is really hard to believe most children know right from wrong, when it comes to sexual mores, especially when they are in their teens. Furthermore, given the fact that children and teens nowadays already have some form of wayward sex education, no thanks to the liberal arts and media and the proliferation of pornography on the Internet, would most of them provide feedback to parents who are otherwise too busy to give them the required attention during their formative years? I certainly don’t recall going home to tell my parents what I have been taught in school every day when I was schooling.

Chua Mui Hoong, of the abominable Straits Stooge Times, wrote that parents who hold the MOE or other groups responsible for teaching their children morals are simply turning over their parental responsibility to the state. But the point is, when parents are not aware that their children are taught something (or do something) that are in conflict with their own moral views, how are these parents supposed to exercise their responsibilities? Certainly, schools do not keep video recordings of the days’ classes to be made available to parents for review later, do they? Not to mention, we often found parents or family members of suspects talking about just good these people were, while completely oblivious of their other activities. But please, do not issue ‘time sheets’ to write a summary on what they have been taught each day in school as an attempt to correct this oversight. Frankly, I would be horrified if that is done!

Of course, parents has a part to play in educating their children and cannot push that responsibility to schools. A consensus must therefore be reached between parents and the schools when it comes to such issues. There’s no point in having confused kids being taught that homosexuality is a sin by their parents or elders, but is then told it is ‘neutral’ in school.

Based on the above, it is my considered opinion that the usual suspects for government gahmen propaganda can stop telling us that MOE is absolved of all responsibilities in this matter. MOE must answer to not just parents, but the general public whether ‘ocifail(s)’ of the MOE had actually studied and vetted the CSE program in the first place to make sure it conformed to MOE’s guidelines. It appeared to me though, that it was simply all left to the decisions of the schools. After all, MOE wrote in a letter: ‘the schools found that the content and messages of the sessions conducted were appropriate for their students and adhered to guidelines to respect the values of different religious groups‘. It had said nothing about its role in deciding on this matter.

If the assumption above is correct, the public must be informed on how the schools which adopted this programme come to their decisions. Was it a committee or an individual who made the decision? Beyond that, is there any mechanism in place by MOE to audit any of these processes and decisions? If the general public has no clue what goes on in this particular ‘black box’ just like me, it is clear that once again that Singapore’s main stream media (and in particular the Stooge Times) is found to be wanting in investigative journalism. Call it deteriorating journalism too, if you wish!

So, it is really is quite amazing to see that in less than a week, the MOE now decides that CSE ‘did not conform to MOE’s guidelines in some aspects’ after a thorough investigation. Does this mean that CSE was never thoroughly reviewed before its approval? Is someone either sleeping on his job or simply negligent? Or more ominously, is someone within MOE or a teacher usng his / her position to push the homosexual agenda through the backdoor? A programme which promotes homosexuality – technically still illegal under the laws of Singapore – went under the radar of the ministry and entered our schools right under our noses! Without Josie Lau and her now much vilified ex-ExCo, would we even be aware of this matter? Pity these female-activist equivalent of the 82nd or 101st Airborne… they got sort of massacre and no one even shed a tear for them!

The gahmen, and not just the MOE, should really take a more serious views on this matter and conduct an investigation to identify those responsible. This material has not only offended the sensibilities of both Muslims and Christians, but also promoted activities that are against our laws. In fact, there’s a term for this kind of activities: subversion, if not sedition.

It is my fear that if such subversive activities are unchecked, this will embolden certain elements within society to continue in such activities that will threaten and destabilised social and religious harmony in our country.

On a lighter note, two different friends (who are less extreme than I) have also expressed concern that certain undesirable developments might take place from here. The first friend expressed concern that the gahmen may take the results of the AWARE EGM as indication that our society is now more open and accepting of homosexuality and thus take action to that effect. The second friend is concerned that Singapore’s low birthrate will be further aggravated with the increase acceptance of homosexuality. In the end, he is concerned there could only be a further relaxing of laws to allow more immigrants – who may have no respect to our values and traditions, and our way of life – to make up for the loss of population.

In both cases, both have expressed that these are developments they do not wish to see.

Recommended Reads:
Call It Grace: The Queen’s Gambit
Joel Joshua Goh’s Notes: True AWAREness

Commentary: Corporate Religions, Charities & Councils

One comment

Whenever I read news about religious leaders lea-duhs or charity heads earning and living like CEOs, I lose a little more faith in organised corporate religions and charities.

Excerpts [Yahoo News, 31.03.2009]

The New Creation Church, which raised 19 million Singapore dollars in just one day in February for the construction of its new premises, paid one employee between 500,001 and 550,000 dollars in the financial year ended March 31, 2008, the Straits Times said.

Excerpts [StraitsStooge Times 06.04.2009]

This revelation of how little Ren Ci’s management knew of its CEO’s salary came up after Deputy Public Prosecutor David Chew quizzed Mrs Chan, 70, about a sudden jump in Ming Yi’s salary in 2001 from $16,000 in May to $20,700 in June.

Excerpts [SundayStooge Times 19.04.2009]

He was quizzed about his ‘quite substantial expenditures’, especially on brand-name goods from labels such as Montblanc and Louis Vuitton. His choice of hotels included top-end names such as St Regis, The Regent, Four Seasons and Banyan Tree.

Ming Yi’s explanation for his lifestyle was: ‘I think we are living in a modern world.’

In a previous post I mentioned something about limiting the amount of money such organisations should be allowed to accumulate. In a subsequent discussion on a friend’s wall post on Facebook, it was pointed out that it would be better for the government gahmen to come up with legislation to spin off the money making corporate segments from the non-profit core and and subject them to corporate taxes.

In short, run like a corporate, and be taxed like a corporate. That’s definitely a far better idea than placing limits on how much money they can accumulate. So, for the likes of NKF, Renci, and even the New Creation Church, they should be subjected to such a legislation and be taxed accordingly. Draw comparison with the Romans trying to tax the Jewish Temple for all I cared.

On top of which, churches should publish their balance sheets, and list all their expenses. Members who dutifully tithe (contribute 10% of their income), must be advised on how their money is used, and decide on what they should do with the excess, if any. As for charities, when they do their fund raising, especially on TV, then they should advise people what is needed and what the shortfall is, so people who give can decide for themselves if it necessary to continue giving. It is my considered opinion that this would avoid charities or NPOs (Non Profit Organisations) hoarding a large amount of money. This is definitely a better idea compared to forcing them to donate their money to another charity. (No, I am not suggesting enforced distribution of money here, I am not a Communist!)

Of course it may drive these organisations to spend un-necessarily – such as replacing their computers or even metal cabinets more often – to justify their ‘need’ for more money. But look on the bright side, at least that spending would at least put money back in the economy instead of having just a few individuals benefiting from it.

Since I am on the topic of hoarding, it has appeared to me that councils like Town Councils and Community Development Councils (CDCs) is also hoarding a large amount of money. They have so much money to the point that some of the former can gamble invest and lose the money, and some of the latter can actually give 8-month performance bonus even in the current economic climate.

Let’s look at CDCs. From what I gather the CDC also receives grants from the gahmen on top of donations from public and corporates, and I suppose those grants come from the MCYS (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports). Since a certain CDC has so much money to give away as performance bonuses, then the budget given to the MCYS to be allocated as grants to all CDCs should be reviewed. After all, when a $1.5 million is budgeted this year and only $1.2 million is used, then the budget next year should be cut. Is it not best practice to ensure that everyone fight for funds to be allocated, and not be given the idea they are entitled to it?

Since the MCYS is so tight on budget to the point that sum allocated for public assistance once become a matter of contention, then money allocated to a particular CDC should be cut and be allocated to public assistance or other CDCs. If MCYS is unable to justify why this money should be allocated to it, then the Cabinet or Parliament should allocate it to another ministry that would need it more. The Ministry of Health looks like it’s in dire need of money all the time, doesn’t it?

As for the Town Councils, the argument given has always been that the sinking funds (in reality, a reserve by another name) are needed for other activities, like repairs & maintenance, re-painting of the blocks, building of cover walkways etc. When questioned about how this sinking fund came about, the Town Councils clarified that conservancy charges collected from each unit is only good enough for the day-to-day operations (like paying the contractors that keeps your estate clean), and the sinking funds come from service charges or fines they collect. Since these miscellaneous ‘income’ is good enough to help the town council accumulate a surplus each year, then the question is this: If every unit under its charge is unable to pay their conservancy charges, how long will these surpluses last them for day to day operations and also the regular maintenance required?

Would it not be better that Town Councils consider what better things to do with all that hoard if that money can last them more than 2 years? Take lowering the conservancy charges for example, it not only to ease the burden of residents, but also goes towards easing the burden that the gahmen would bear in terms of GST rebates given regularly to cover part of the conservancy charges. In fact, it will allow the gahmen to allocate the money where it is needed more.

In short, the primary idea here is to encourage better allocation and discourage the hoarding of money, a scarce resource which is already badly distributed. On top of which, a side effect maybe that some of that money goes back into the our domestic economy, which is already insignificant as far as our GDP is concerned.

Recommended Reads:
Zack Whittaker: 10 things I hate about Twitter
Obiter Dicta: Barbarians at the Gate!

Commentary: Be Blissfully UnAWARE (FIN)

15 comments

It’s almost a month since the so-called hostile takeover of AWARE and it is much expected that things aren’t going clear up even after the 2nd May EOGM. Either way, this will be my final post on this matter, since I am not articulate enough to put my views across and I easily lose my temper, which usually means an end to a civilised and serious debate as we know it.

On looking back, I realised what triggered my response in the first place was simply my annoyance that Internet opinion is so one sided against the new AWARE ExCo. I am further annoyed that right from the first article on 10th April, Wong Kim Hoh (a Senile Senior Writer) started talking about the new ExCo’s stand on equality, sexuality and religion and even dug up letters they wrote to the press previously. (With this episode everyone should seriously be wary about writing to the papers. Remember you need to provide some very personal information when doing so – NRIC and phone numbers and address.)

Excerpts [Stooges Times, 10th April]:

A check showed that some of those at the AGM and on the new committee have appeared in The Straits Times Forum Page.

Ms Chua, Ms Thiang and Dr Alan Chin, a male member of Aware who attended the AGM and supported the newcomers, all wrote letters to this newspaper between August and October 2007.

In a letter on Oct 17 that year, Ms Chua said NMP Siew Kum Hong had overstepped his non-partisan role and advanced the homosexual cause by tabling a petition in Parliament to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code which criminalises homosexual sex between consenting men.

I am quite impressed, actually. For once the Straits Stooge Times has lived up to the journalistic standards expected of it. Contrast that with their appalling lack of follow-up on the Geylang Serai Temporary Market food poisoning incident – such as the lack of spring cleaning for 3 years and the constant problem of rat plaguing all our markets.

I thought that would be the end of my annoyance but several days later (probably around 18th April), personal information of the new AWARE President appears on the papers. Her occupation, the name of her spouse and children were all over the mass media. All this along with the rest of the new ExCo, complete with photographs. Even the fact that several members attend the same church came to light. Consider that information on the Geylang Serai Temporary Market Committee was totally non-existent on the Internet, this is a remarkable effort worthy of George Orwell! (Personally, I hold the Stooge Times responsible for the death threats that Josie Lau and her family now receives. Whatever the case is, for sure I’ll not bother to subscribe or take any Stooge Times article seriously, probably for the rest of my life.)

That’s not yet the end, however. On 23rd April, Alan John (a deputy ISD Director Editor of the Stooge Times) joined the fray with an article titled “AWARE saga: Too many questions left unanswered”. Many points in it but really nothing new in particular. It was simply expanding on things that has been written by Wong about two weeks ago, with the new information now available. Looking at their articles, the naughty thought that these two are ‘coming out of the closet’ came to mind at times, though that was dismissed as quickly as it spawned.

Looking at the direction this has taken, I feel for Josie Lau and her family. It must have been a long and dreadful month for her. Hated by people who probably just got all their ideas from reading all these fxxked-up mass media reports and from public impressions formed over nothing more than an CNA interview. That’s not menmtioning, getting labeled as a power-hungry conservative and Christian fundamentalist, plus getting her family threatened and even ‘earning’ a reprimand from the employer.

And talking about the reprimand:

Excerpts from a comment here:

What is so perplexed about this matter is there are other people on board in DBS who are holding executive appointments with either NGOs’ or government positions, like Koh Boon Hwee, Liang Eng Hwa etc… only Josie Lau has been targeted for a personal reason & i know what it is, she is a VP, holding an executive appointment in the bank, she is also a Christian, is very vocal about homosexuality & its shortcomings, she got herself in hot soup, her hubby Dr Alan Chin is also an associate member of AWARE, their style of reasoning & leadership qualities is vastly different from the old guards.

Poor, poor Josie. Apparently singled out for reprimand. To me, DBS seems to be going out of its way not only to make up for their previous association with FOTF (Focus on the Family), but to kowtow to the LGBT lobby. Well done, DBS. Is there anything you have ever gotten right for a long time? Perhaps, while DBS is afraid of offending some LGBT loudmouths, it should also be reminded that it is even worse to offend the majority. (Seriously, from the implementation of service charges on accounts less than $500 after the purchase of POSB, to the apparent lack of supervision over the sale of DBS High Notes 5 minibonds to certain non investment savvy individuals, is there anything DBS has done that hasn’t shown itself to care about nothing more other than its own bottom line?)

Either way, this episode confirms just how easy it is to manipulate agenda on the Internet. On Twitter for example, I see ‘re-tweets’ (or replication) of comments and opinions among pseudo-communities like some kind of virus replication. How quickly these people replicate those Tweets makes me wonder how much time they have given the entire matter a more complete look through or evaluation before taking up the cause of friends or acquaintances as their own. In financial markets, this is called the ‘herd mentality’.

I won’t go so far to say that this is deliberate staged by god-knows-who as some kind of experiment, but just how single-sided the Internet opinion has been after the media has played up the LGBT issue, might actually go some way to reinforce the impression of the more conservative-minded people, and convince the government gahmen the Internet is dangerous, non-self regulating and thus in need some kind of control. If some laws may be put in place in the future for whatever excuses, I would understand the rational behind it and be far less vocal and vehement in opposing it even when I can’t agree with it.

I get the shivers when this almost convinces me that China has the foresight and has been utterly right in setting up the Great Firewall (GFW) to establish some control over the Internet. Almost, because I am not a big fan of censorship or Internet control and I am not in power. Can’t say I’ll feel the same way otherwise…

As I bring this article to a close, interestingly, a few things came to mind. One was this question where a friend asked: “So from this episode, can I ask now, whether we can logically consider that homosexuality causes division and disharmony to society?”

The other was a bit more abstract… and is based on my own interpretation of this friend’s usually enigmatic comments, ‘I let you sell curry puff in front of my store, doesn’t mean I have to advertise for you and SUPPORT you. I simply don’t drive you out.’

If I understands this little pearl of wisdom correctly, that summarises nicely about all that hullabaloo from the old guard, Internet opinion and media reports about gender equality and this… mess.

Insane Utterances:

We are the “Samurai Drinkers”. This is our code:

1. We drink for pleasure, not torture.

2. You buy one, I buy one.

3. Bo dah do lan pa? Don’t dah my jiu to to show my lan pa as yours. Buy your own drinks. See #2.

4. It’s people who gives you face, and you who throw it away. Do not disturb other customers.

Daily Discourse: Cockadoo-da-doo, Any job will do!

2 comments

Once upon a time, when this Lycan met his more-than-a-decade kindred friend for dinner at Botak Jones in Braddell, we agreed that even when one is elite, avoid being elitist. Being elitist, as per our own Hokkien translation, simply means being ‘kwai lan’ [Hokkien: obnoxious].

I would classify the following as an example of elitism or being elitist, even though I suspect my kindred friend may disagree.

Excerpts [Today Online 20.04.2009]

… Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong was in earnest as he advised this participant, and the other 80 or so youthful participants at the dialogue session with Young NTUC, to be flexible when job-hunting in a downturn. He urged them to “take up any job that is available”, as there would always be “opportunities to upgrade later on”.

Say an employer asks why you’ve not been working for the past one year – do you answer that there were “no jobs available”?

“Employers will not believe because there are always jobs available,” said Mr Gan. “Employers will think … if in a crisis situation you’re willing to sit at home and do nothing, it means that you’re not flexible.”

For instance, Mr Gan revealed his “dream job” had been to teach, but the closest he got to it was as Minister of State for Education.

Friend Auntie Fang commented that this is as good as Barack Obama saying, “his greatest wish was to be the President of the High School Chess Club and the closest he end up is being the President of the United States.”

I burst out laughing. Yet at the same time I remembered during a recession not too long ago, a particular spawn of the Lim clan who then happened to be NTUC Chief and Mini$ter Cho-Bo-Lan of No-Portfolio (not the current one), said he could not understand why people on the edge of desperation would not even take up $800 jobs while foreign workers from China are jumping on it.

My answer then to him then was this: Do something to lower the cost of living, and Singaporeans will be a lot less fussy about the jobs and salary. Unlike Kiam Gan and his fellow mini$ter$, we aren’t the highest paid people in our respective lines in the world. Everyone, even the youngsters, basically look for jobs that would cover more that just the cost of living, or else it would be nothing but a pathetic existence which is all work and no… life!

On top of which, if Gan is really so keen about being a teacher, perhaps he should pray very hard that he will lose the next election. When that happens he can sign up to be a teacher or even start his own tuition centre. Even better, is that he lose to the slipper-man, and that will allow some kids to boast to their peers: Look! My teacher was the mini$ter who lost to slipper-man!!

Jokes aside, if Gan really lost in the elections, and the economy is so bad that he can’t even manage to be either a teacher or a tutor (impossible for a top calibre Tali-PAP mini$ter like him), Gan can still do what he preaches by signing on as a janitor in a school and wait for opportunities to upgrade later.

Frankly, there’s no greater encouragement than being a living example! Gan can prove to us he has what it takes! I am pretty damned sure he will be stayer and won’t just quit on us by migrating!


Recommended Reads:
Terence69: AWARE Wasn’t Aware
The Itch To Write: DBS publicly criticises AWARE’s new Head

1 … 36 37 38 39 40 … 99