Disclaimer:
In no way this is to be treated as an academic historical paper or the absolute truth. It's just an opinion piece I penned one last time for my own leisure and of course, for our leader Lee Kuan Yew. There will some good and nasty things I will write about him so extreme LKY's worshipers (those who ignored his past deeds and want to whitewash him) and haters, please go away. We are not on the same channel. And for the rest, I believe you already have your own opinions on the old man but I hope you can read on. Click on some of the links I shared and form your own new opinions on the man. This posts will have some video links and also some historical facts that I know. Most of them are pulled from the Internet so it might not be correct as I need something to reference upon on, If readers do spot a mistake, please just drop me a comment and I will correct them.
History is important to me. It's a form of way to identify myself as a Singaporean Chinese. I enjoy reading Ancient Chinese history to lean more about my roots but I especially love reading Singapore's history as I am a true born 3rd generation Singaporean. I also love his-story as I am fascinated with people. People with powers that shape future generations to come.
Lee Kuan Yew is one such character.
I actually started to write about him again while he was critically ill in bed but I decided to stop when I saw the euphoria of some of his haters online. And indeed, those who adore him started to condemn those who are happy about his inevitable demise. People then started taking sides and posting irrational thoughts, provoking each others. Some called for unity. Some called for respect. Some ask others to go fuck themselves I'm of course, indifferent about the whole death issue as all men will die some day. But all these hate and love on one single person? Then followed by the mourning and the long queue to pay a last visit to an empty shell. Don't you want to know why leh? I want to know and I think I know. :P
People likes to simplify things. I tends to complicate them. So for this piece. I will just list out the good and bad things that people say about him that I agree with.
The good
1) He's charismatic, good looking and definitely an intellectual who posses some wisdom to guide our country. Just look around us now. Singapore as a country is successful and rich. There's no denying it that he helped to shape it into this. Of course he had help from others like Goh Keng Swee and Dr Albert Winsemius. But at least for those haters who say he's a dictator, he did listened to their suggestion and implemented them. And for those worshipers who are still reading or clueless. No. Singapore is not a "fishing" village when he took over.
2) He's a tough and strong willed leader who can bring the best out of people. "People, especially the ministers and senior government officials working under him literally fears him" one of his critics and ex ISD detainee Francis Seow said. Such fears normally will push oneself to excel. It's not the best way but I agree it's one of the ways to do it.
3) He's not corrupt. He's frugal in his expenses. I had heard rumours that he enjoyed expensive whiskey or wine but I think that's fine. All man have some sins. Same old shirt and briefcase for years..... I sincerely love the windbreaker he always wears to parliament sittings. This frugality also extended to his family members. I think Tin Pei Ling will faint if she is part of the family. Also not to forget he's not in this for the money. The CIA bribe scandal is also another good indication.
4) He's a loving, devoting father and husband. Although last time no instagram but there are enough pictures in his memoir and on the Internet to proof that :P I especially feel the love in this and this video on youtube.
5) He's hardworking and put Singapore 1st. Countless accounts of civil servants says he work hard everyday and when he speaks, is mostly about Singapore. There's no denying that.
6) He's a master orator. Period. ND rally and election speeches was so much more interesting during his era.
7) He's gentle, kind and approachable. Some of you might go HAR!!??? But sad to say this is genuine. I once had a very brief encounter with him. My friend and I went to Marina Barrage to shoot but we got ourselves right in the middle of a PAP convention . So we retreated and took a long walk towards the Marina Bay MRT station. Along the road, we saw the whole road empty with traffic. A limo stopped just beside the road and there he is, the old man was in the car heading towards the convention. I made eye contact with him, he smiled at me 1st and I smiled and waved back. He actually waved back and the car drove off. No high horse or attitude or a fake smile. A very genuine and sincere one I would say. There are, of course other countless people who have the chance to talk to him and find him the same way. I will explain why this is such a big contrast to what others says of him. This love of the people is like a Lord or a King loving his subjects. He is concern with our livelihood as he felt responsible for our well beings. Not exactly bad but I would not say it's exactly good too as his world view is that people are born with a difference. Some are more "elite" then others.
The bad
1) He's a bully, a gangster and power crazy. Especially to his political opponents or those with influences and opposes him. I think I can list a very long list of names. But some notables are during Operation Coldstore in 63 and 66. People like Chia Thye Poh (32) , Said Zahari (17), Lim Hock Siew(17), Dr Poh Soo Kai (19) and others. I named the 1st four because they were imprisoned without trial for the longest period of time. The brackets beside the name is not the age but the years spent in detention. The links are video interviews that was made but please don't treat them as the absolute truth. But it serves a good understanding on who LKY targets and how his opponents felt about him. Then in 1987. Operation Spectrum sees another wave of arrests. This could be the main gist of his flaw. He also stayed too long in power. From Senior Minister to Minister Mentor! What a title! The rest of the founding fathers have already retire from politics or not involved in cabinet meetings. But he stayed on till 2011!
2) He's ruthless and authoritative. Even Mr Dhanabalan who said it that he was ruthless to all who would undermine his authority. It's not easy to work for such a boss.
3) He's cunning,calculative and not trustworthy. In the declassified British documents The late Tunku Abdul Rahman and Lord Selkirk does not have good words for him.
4) He practices nepotism. Giving various high senior government position to his own people. This is not surprising as he needs to consolidate his power and control.
5) He's greedy and a hoarder of money. This seems to be contradictory to point that he's not corrupt. But being frugal and not accepting bribes does not mean he's not greedy. There are people who likes to see money in their bank grows indefinitely for no apparent reason. He may not spend it but he just loves to hoard it. How he acquires the money will be another room to debate for but the fact is that he acknowledges that ministers needs to be paid according to the highest income group shows he enjoys being wealthy.
6) He's egocentric, living in his own grandiose. I think the books, the state funeral of his wife and allowing all those ass lickers surrounding him is a good indication that he likes to hear people say great things about him.
7) He's a coward. Yup. He's scared. Scared of all the bad things that might happen if he loses power and all. His public persona is always a strong and fearless man but I believe underneath he is damn scared of those whom he finds are his equals. This is quite easy to spot as when faced with challenges to his authority. He uses backstabbing and underhanded methods to solve them rather than with the rule of law. Eg. like the ISA. and lawsuits . J. B. Jeyaretnam, Dr Chee and Mr Tang Liang Hong. He's also highly suspicious on people who would undermine his rule.
7 good points and 7 bad.
There are more like he's a racist towards our Malay brothers and sisters but I think he had no choice in that. He needs the Chinese voter base to consolidate his power. I sincerely don't think he is racist but I do apologise to my fellow Malay Singaporeans for the biased treatment under his rule. Those who knows me well knows I hate hypocrites and he's seems not. He did said in his books that he don't believe in western style democracy and so he didn't deny its all just a cover up. I'm still struggling with these 2 points so I left them out.
I believe majority of my fellow Singaporeans on both end of the spectrum agrees with my assessment and some of them in the middle ground like me still find it sad to see him go and have an unknown urge to pay him a last respect. It's perfectly normal and make sense because he did indeed became a part of our heritage. Majority of the Singaporeans did not even know our own Singapore history well. Which is to me quite sad and why I wrote this post. Most of our heritage are torn down for the sake of "progress". The only person we knew well together and closely tied to our history is Lee Kuan Yew himself. One of the founding father of modern Singapore. Whenever we go overseas, we'll be surprised to hear our foreign friends knew about a person called LKY. From young, we're educated sub-consciously that he is the embodiment of Singapore. Just look at the euphoria and joy every time when the old man shows up for NDP! So whenever one of our heritage or national identity are destroyed, we felt something is lost. And for the supporters and haters, we did lost something today.
So would I pay my last respect to him in person and mourn. Not really. I find that a lot of the current problems we face in Singapore is actually the legacy of the old man himself. Due to his authoritarian style of rule. Majority of the Singaporeans became too dependent on the government and thus, lost the ability to think critically and paints everything in just plain black or white/ true or false argument.
I also don't believe in wearing black or mourning together is a way to send him off. It creeps me off actually. I don't think he will like it either as he clearly stated he did not want to be worshiped after he's dead. He don't want to be embalmed and put in a display case like Chairman Mao. Instead, I'm actually glad he's finally out of the picture so we can reorganise ourselves as fellow Singaporeans and move on. This is so pragmatic Lee Kuan Yew style isn't it? :)
RIP LKY.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
May 2014. What an interesting month!
WARNING. Long post ahead with lotsa grammatical errors. :P
A brief summary. Besides being the month of my girl's birthday, there was a coup in Thailand that ended the political unrest. A blogger got sued by our PM Lee in Singapore and a big debate about constructive politics between our PM Lee and opposition chief Mr Low.
1st off. Thailand military staged it's 12th coup on the 22th May. Bringing the 6th month of madness in control (somehow forcefully). Although I don't really endorse the idea of such actions by the military but at least so far they have been quite fair in dealing with both parties. The only thing I want to complain is that there are too much censorship on the media. I guess they are worried that the anti-coup camp will stage more protests so they have these draconian laws of anti-coup messages deleted and court martials but I'm afraid this will most probably makes things worst. I'm not going to comment too much on this whole situation as the Thai always says "Please don't comment on Thai politics if you're a foreigner. It's complicated." I still want to stay in LOS so the better of me to STFU :)
Then at the Singapore end. We have a blogger Roy Ngerng being sued by our PM Lee. I was following this thread quite closely as it was damn entertaining. I have to say sincerely I didn't know about Roy (even though I am SO "political"and critical of our MIW gahment) before this whole incident. I did however, remembered that I read one of his articles that was shared by my friend in FB. I didn't dwell too much into it as it was a link from The Real Singapore. :P But at that time, my conclusion was it's just a rant. I do have some knowledge on how our CPF works and there are some good questions on certain aspects but most of them are just bit extreme on trying to get himself into trouble. And lo and behold. He got sued!
So the online mass kind of broke into 3 camps.
Pro MIW camp starts mocking him - this is usual and I forgive them.
Anti-gahment camp supports him totally - a usual response from them too as anything anti gahment must support mah!
Then the 3rd camp - so called pro liberals who always said that they don't take sides (but in fact they do but just do not have the guts to admit it) starts mocking him too - this is to me, a very disgusting attitude and the worst of all. Why? Because these are hypocrites and those who reads my blogs know I hated hypocrites.
Roy may not be factual I agree, he may not be smart or an intellect like you and I. He maybe did it for glory and fame. But at least he dares to speak up. Maybe he is insidious and out for blood against the FAMILEE. But ask this question. Besides getting sued by our most powerful person in the country. What other benefits will he get? He will be punished, condemned and maybe even lose his job and get bankrupt so do we really need to mock him any further? Real pro liberals should instead mock the other 2 camps, the pro MIW and anti-gahment ones. They should not be proclaiming to be pro-liberal and make fun of Roy like "He deserves it." "He's stupid!" "He just want to be famous!" but instead gives sound advice to Roy like "He should be more careful on how he writes. " " One can make his points across without name callings or getting emotional"
My take on the whole lawsuit is that this is one of the worst PR disaster for our PM Lee as if he had been gracious and dropped the case, Roy will not be made as a Martyr in the anti-gahment camp. It's sad actually as this whole debacle, all of us are losers. Our PM becomes a bully, Roy with get sued and punished for something he believes in. And if he is the bad guy like what other people says, he gets his limelight anyway. We, the commoners will not get a full disclosure on what's going on in our CPF.
The last incident was the constructive politics debate in Parliament between PM Lee and WP's chief Mr Low. I read the some of the comments in FB before watching it and people were laughing at Mr Low's Engrish... That's a bit low. For a Mandarin educated Mr Low, what he managed to pull off was formidable. It might be interesting to see how PM Lee debates in Mandarin or Tamil/Hindi. We should do that in parliament as I believe one day with our current intake of FTs, Singapore might really belongs to China/India. :P
A brief summary. Besides being the month of my girl's birthday, there was a coup in Thailand that ended the political unrest. A blogger got sued by our PM Lee in Singapore and a big debate about constructive politics between our PM Lee and opposition chief Mr Low.
1st off. Thailand military staged it's 12th coup on the 22th May. Bringing the 6th month of madness in control (somehow forcefully). Although I don't really endorse the idea of such actions by the military but at least so far they have been quite fair in dealing with both parties. The only thing I want to complain is that there are too much censorship on the media. I guess they are worried that the anti-coup camp will stage more protests so they have these draconian laws of anti-coup messages deleted and court martials but I'm afraid this will most probably makes things worst. I'm not going to comment too much on this whole situation as the Thai always says "Please don't comment on Thai politics if you're a foreigner. It's complicated." I still want to stay in LOS so the better of me to STFU :)
Then at the Singapore end. We have a blogger Roy Ngerng being sued by our PM Lee. I was following this thread quite closely as it was damn entertaining. I have to say sincerely I didn't know about Roy (even though I am SO "political"and critical of our MIW gahment) before this whole incident. I did however, remembered that I read one of his articles that was shared by my friend in FB. I didn't dwell too much into it as it was a link from The Real Singapore. :P But at that time, my conclusion was it's just a rant. I do have some knowledge on how our CPF works and there are some good questions on certain aspects but most of them are just bit extreme on trying to get himself into trouble. And lo and behold. He got sued!
So the online mass kind of broke into 3 camps.
Pro MIW camp starts mocking him - this is usual and I forgive them.
Anti-gahment camp supports him totally - a usual response from them too as anything anti gahment must support mah!
Then the 3rd camp - so called pro liberals who always said that they don't take sides (but in fact they do but just do not have the guts to admit it) starts mocking him too - this is to me, a very disgusting attitude and the worst of all. Why? Because these are hypocrites and those who reads my blogs know I hated hypocrites.
Roy may not be factual I agree, he may not be smart or an intellect like you and I. He maybe did it for glory and fame. But at least he dares to speak up. Maybe he is insidious and out for blood against the FAMILEE. But ask this question. Besides getting sued by our most powerful person in the country. What other benefits will he get? He will be punished, condemned and maybe even lose his job and get bankrupt so do we really need to mock him any further? Real pro liberals should instead mock the other 2 camps, the pro MIW and anti-gahment ones. They should not be proclaiming to be pro-liberal and make fun of Roy like "He deserves it." "He's stupid!" "He just want to be famous!" but instead gives sound advice to Roy like "He should be more careful on how he writes. " " One can make his points across without name callings or getting emotional"
My take on the whole lawsuit is that this is one of the worst PR disaster for our PM Lee as if he had been gracious and dropped the case, Roy will not be made as a Martyr in the anti-gahment camp. It's sad actually as this whole debacle, all of us are losers. Our PM becomes a bully, Roy with get sued and punished for something he believes in. And if he is the bad guy like what other people says, he gets his limelight anyway. We, the commoners will not get a full disclosure on what's going on in our CPF.
The last incident was the constructive politics debate in Parliament between PM Lee and WP's chief Mr Low. I read the some of the comments in FB before watching it and people were laughing at Mr Low's Engrish... That's a bit low. For a Mandarin educated Mr Low, what he managed to pull off was formidable. It might be interesting to see how PM Lee debates in Mandarin or Tamil/Hindi. We should do that in parliament as I believe one day with our current intake of FTs, Singapore might really belongs to China/India. :P
I saw this coming almost 8 years ago.
I woke up this morning and was reading the news online when I saw this on BBC.
Singapore has topped 131 cities globally to become the world's most expensive city to live in 2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821
I'm not surprised at this announcement at all but I just recalled the time when my girl was just born in 2006. I was thinking about the option I can provide for my girl and my wife if I was to choose to bring them back to Singapore. I guess I made the correct decision then. Again, I'm not dissing Singapore being expensive or whatsoever. To certain people (those rich ones :P), it's still a fantastic city to be in. And I would easily choose Singapore over Bangkok if it's the only choices I can make.
Frankly if I was to bring them back to Singapore then, Boy boy won't be around as I sincerely don't think I can afford to have another kid as a sole bread winner. Missus can't speak English and it will be tough for her to get a job which means our income will be limited.
In short, wages have been stagnant since 2000 while the city moved on at a ridiculous pace without allowing us, the majority middle income group to catch up. And this to me, is not growth of a country but a perversion of growth and wealth among the top earners/leaders in the country. What's even worst then this is the majority of Singaporeans still have not waken up from their dream that it's not the fault of gahment policies. Sad.
Singapore has topped 131 cities globally to become the world's most expensive city to live in 2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821
I'm not surprised at this announcement at all but I just recalled the time when my girl was just born in 2006. I was thinking about the option I can provide for my girl and my wife if I was to choose to bring them back to Singapore. I guess I made the correct decision then. Again, I'm not dissing Singapore being expensive or whatsoever. To certain people (those rich ones :P), it's still a fantastic city to be in. And I would easily choose Singapore over Bangkok if it's the only choices I can make.
Frankly if I was to bring them back to Singapore then, Boy boy won't be around as I sincerely don't think I can afford to have another kid as a sole bread winner. Missus can't speak English and it will be tough for her to get a job which means our income will be limited.
In short, wages have been stagnant since 2000 while the city moved on at a ridiculous pace without allowing us, the majority middle income group to catch up. And this to me, is not growth of a country but a perversion of growth and wealth among the top earners/leaders in the country. What's even worst then this is the majority of Singaporeans still have not waken up from their dream that it's not the fault of gahment policies. Sad.
The fallacy of idolisation
This post is written on the recent 90th big birthday of our so called "founding father" Mr LKY himself. Pages and pages of people congratulating him and denouncing him on the Internet and social medias. Most of them are just ball-licking idolisation of a "man". My emphasis on that later.
I had an interesting discussion with a friend and he was raving about how great that old man is and whatsover. "No matter what he did, bad or good. He did sucessfully managed our country!" my friend argued. "And look at your Switzerland, Norway of those Denmark countries that are sucessful! Name me a great leader from that country! None right?"
Now here's the fallacy. Do they have great leaders? I would say so but I can't name them because these great leaders chose not to be named and remembered. They work from within and never took credits all to themselves. And these leaders actually help shaped the future generations within the country to be responsible for their very actions they are going to take. Be it politically or socially. I think they do know that idolisation of someone will only leads to a very concerning issues. Instead of "telling" people what to do. These good leaders will lead and convinced people to why and what should be done. And in the end, all will be responsible for their actions and consequences.
Now back to idolisation of a "man". Human beings are not perfect. None and period. There's nothing wrong in looking up to someone that you like but overdoing it and we get to see something very similar. Look at Hitler, Mussolini. Look at Mao Ze Dong, Deng Xiao Ping. Even look at our old man LKY now. Their intentions are always initially good but once success gets into their head and ball-lickers assholes starts surrounding them. Some of these assholes jokers will use the status of this new idolisation for their own personal agenda and purposes.
So herein lies a great question and my answer to it all; Is our LKY a great leader? No, he's not. He is to me, a successful one but can never be great. Simply becuase when he's in power and he never exercised his choice to educate and give credits due.
And the sad fact is that all great leaders are normally unkown to most. As these people never take credits at all. We will only remembered them via their actions and the nations they were in . Great nations like Switzerland, Denmark and etc.
I had an interesting discussion with a friend and he was raving about how great that old man is and whatsover. "No matter what he did, bad or good. He did sucessfully managed our country!" my friend argued. "And look at your Switzerland, Norway of those Denmark countries that are sucessful! Name me a great leader from that country! None right?"
Now here's the fallacy. Do they have great leaders? I would say so but I can't name them because these great leaders chose not to be named and remembered. They work from within and never took credits all to themselves. And these leaders actually help shaped the future generations within the country to be responsible for their very actions they are going to take. Be it politically or socially. I think they do know that idolisation of someone will only leads to a very concerning issues. Instead of "telling" people what to do. These good leaders will lead and convinced people to why and what should be done. And in the end, all will be responsible for their actions and consequences.
Now back to idolisation of a "man". Human beings are not perfect. None and period. There's nothing wrong in looking up to someone that you like but overdoing it and we get to see something very similar. Look at Hitler, Mussolini. Look at Mao Ze Dong, Deng Xiao Ping. Even look at our old man LKY now. Their intentions are always initially good but once success gets into their head and ball-lickers assholes starts surrounding them. Some of these assholes jokers will use the status of this new idolisation for their own personal agenda and purposes.
So herein lies a great question and my answer to it all; Is our LKY a great leader? No, he's not. He is to me, a successful one but can never be great. Simply becuase when he's in power and he never exercised his choice to educate and give credits due.
And the sad fact is that all great leaders are normally unkown to most. As these people never take credits at all. We will only remembered them via their actions and the nations they were in . Great nations like Switzerland, Denmark and etc.
Thai Politics
I normally refrain myself from posting about politics in Thailand as its actually quite complicated. The recent Red movement was just another part of the never ending episodes of the class divide in Thailand. The elites, the army, the middle class and the poor.
A lot of my friends were worried that I was in Thailand when the crisis was escalating during the Songkran and this year's songkran as mentioned in the Bangkok Post, shall be one to be remembered. The north where I was staying is still in its festive mood and unaffected by the tensions in Bangkok (although the constant news reports on TV does cast a shadow in the celebration)
So after the crackdown. Its a relief that everything seems to be normal for the moment but I think this recent incident does serves a good wake up call for the ruling party. They still pale in terms of support from the central rural and northern Thailand. The mistrust is there and they really need to do something about it.
Abhisit is a very intellectual guy and I do hope he can do well but he faces a big task ahead. Not from Thaksin and his red supporters but actually from the other political factions and the army actually. This recent crackdown shows he lacks full support from the Army and Police. The slow response from the Army and how he actually relied on troops called in from another province (the unit's actual influence is actually a retired general and a mentor of him) to quash the rioting crowd.
So is there a future in the LOS (Land of Smile)? Interestingly since this is going to be the place I am going to retire, will such political disturbances affect my livelihood. I have to say it really depends on where you stay. In the north where the people there are more nonchalant about all these politics, you will be fine (so long you don't proclaim yourself to be on either factions. It does effect the economy but not to such a grand scale as stated by ST (all those bullshit does not apply to Thailand) as Thailand grows its own food and does not reply on imports. SO if you are able to eat simple and not yearning of luxurious goods. Then its still a good place to retire.
A lot of my friends were worried that I was in Thailand when the crisis was escalating during the Songkran and this year's songkran as mentioned in the Bangkok Post, shall be one to be remembered. The north where I was staying is still in its festive mood and unaffected by the tensions in Bangkok (although the constant news reports on TV does cast a shadow in the celebration)
So after the crackdown. Its a relief that everything seems to be normal for the moment but I think this recent incident does serves a good wake up call for the ruling party. They still pale in terms of support from the central rural and northern Thailand. The mistrust is there and they really need to do something about it.
Abhisit is a very intellectual guy and I do hope he can do well but he faces a big task ahead. Not from Thaksin and his red supporters but actually from the other political factions and the army actually. This recent crackdown shows he lacks full support from the Army and Police. The slow response from the Army and how he actually relied on troops called in from another province (the unit's actual influence is actually a retired general and a mentor of him) to quash the rioting crowd.
So is there a future in the LOS (Land of Smile)? Interestingly since this is going to be the place I am going to retire, will such political disturbances affect my livelihood. I have to say it really depends on where you stay. In the north where the people there are more nonchalant about all these politics, you will be fine (so long you don't proclaim yourself to be on either factions. It does effect the economy but not to such a grand scale as stated by ST (all those bullshit does not apply to Thailand) as Thailand grows its own food and does not reply on imports. SO if you are able to eat simple and not yearning of luxurious goods. Then its still a good place to retire.
Our Mainstream Media is just plain stupid
Thanks to Mr Brown for notifying.
This really proves that our local papers and mass media are plain stupid (more like idiotic) in the whole Internet era. Anything posted on the net will be cached. Its no longer like the good old days where you can burn periodicals or books. This new medium is here to stay and by display this sort of behavior of deleting the post without any sorts of explanation is just plain integrity suicide (not like they have a lot left anyway).
The only way out now for them is to republish the posts or give a really really good explanation. Come on please! Don't expect deleting these posts will stop people discussing about this issue. This will just makes things worst?
And about that mayor who don't know anything about the whole bonus incident. I seriously wonder how come we pay you so much?
Thanks to the gutless and stupid 66% Singaporeans who voted for these people to power. I'm ok, as I'm leaving for good. For the rest who are staying. You're screwed.
This really proves that our local papers and mass media are plain stupid (more like idiotic) in the whole Internet era. Anything posted on the net will be cached. Its no longer like the good old days where you can burn periodicals or books. This new medium is here to stay and by display this sort of behavior of deleting the post without any sorts of explanation is just plain integrity suicide (not like they have a lot left anyway).
The only way out now for them is to republish the posts or give a really really good explanation. Come on please! Don't expect deleting these posts will stop people discussing about this issue. This will just makes things worst?
And about that mayor who don't know anything about the whole bonus incident. I seriously wonder how come we pay you so much?
Thanks to the gutless and stupid 66% Singaporeans who voted for these people to power. I'm ok, as I'm leaving for good. For the rest who are staying. You're screwed.
I thought I read wrongly!!!
Saw an article on Todayonline and can't believe my eyes for a while. The article was about the recent "high" level civil servant bragging about spending 40k in France for a cooking class. Thought our Mr Teo was already doing damage control in the parliament. But some of these "elites" just could not shut their mouth....
Here's an extract from the article... Note the bold and especially the red portion.
Bloody hell... can someone (maybe Mr Teo who is at least trying hard) give Mr Charles a tight cock slap on his mouth. More damage control coming...
Link to original article
Edit: Seems like Sammyboy Coffeeshop is already lynching our dear "Immortal" Charles. hehehe
Here's an extract from the article... Note the bold and especially the red portion.
Agreeing that the rebuke in Parliament was “harsh”, MP Charles Chong noted that Mr Tan didn’t “brag” about how expensive the trip was in the article.
.
“Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a little bit boastful,” he said. “Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything?”
Bloody hell... can someone (maybe Mr Teo who is at least trying hard) give Mr Charles a tight cock slap on his mouth. More damage control coming...
Link to original article
Edit: Seems like Sammyboy Coffeeshop is already lynching our dear "Immortal" Charles. hehehe
The Current Thai Politcal Crisis
I have refrained myself from writing about this issue for sometime as its a pretty complicated from an outsider's point of view. So these are just my opinions on the situation and may not reflect the true nature behind all these chaos.
The problem with Samak is that he is definitely not as charismatic as Thaksin. He won because he was leading the PPP and during the election, he proudly proclaimed to be a proxy of Thaksin. So thus, he won easily (I think most will agree on this point).
You may asked why then, such a corrupted (well the Thai courts say so) leader such as Thaksin still managed to get so many people supporting him? The main reason is still that the poor in the North (especially the farmers) and Northeast are still loyal to him. Because while he was in office, their standard of living has definitely improved (I can safely said this as I first went to Maesai in 1999 and comparing it with today, it was really really different). Roads are more well build. The people are richer. There are Internet cafes with pretty good speed and etc. He was also the one who dared to implement the now popular 30baht fee to see a doctor. So you can't really blame these people who voted for him as to them, he was their hero. Their voice.
The recent crisis we see Samak more or less being isolated and even the people in the North wants him out. I think mainly because they felt betrayed by the fact that he did not vocally supported Thaksin's return and keeping his distance away from him. Another reason is that the Northern Thais are not as vocal as those in Bangkok. And even worse, we are sure that the Army really doesn't supports him.
So the next few months will be quite interesting. Most probably we will have another election and I do hope those PAD leaders will be arrested for the recent events. These jokers are actually quite dangerous as they believed in mob rules rather than real democracy. As I have told a friend before. No matter how righteous you may declare yourself to be. You should respect the law and the current government till the end of the term. If you are able to prove that they are corrupt or a cheat (in elections). Then bring them to court. (Thai courts are quite independant from the legislatives as proven). Social discord and disobedient should be the final straw if the courts are unfair. They way they behave are like spoiled brats. Creating havoc and damage to the country because their demands are not met.
Same goes to Samak. Stop being power crazy and resign and let another PPP candidate take over. If not, call for fresh elections and win this time without proclaiming yourself to be Thaksin's proxy (see if you can win :P) But I guess its too late for him now.
The problem with Samak is that he is definitely not as charismatic as Thaksin. He won because he was leading the PPP and during the election, he proudly proclaimed to be a proxy of Thaksin. So thus, he won easily (I think most will agree on this point).
You may asked why then, such a corrupted (well the Thai courts say so) leader such as Thaksin still managed to get so many people supporting him? The main reason is still that the poor in the North (especially the farmers) and Northeast are still loyal to him. Because while he was in office, their standard of living has definitely improved (I can safely said this as I first went to Maesai in 1999 and comparing it with today, it was really really different). Roads are more well build. The people are richer. There are Internet cafes with pretty good speed and etc. He was also the one who dared to implement the now popular 30baht fee to see a doctor. So you can't really blame these people who voted for him as to them, he was their hero. Their voice.
The recent crisis we see Samak more or less being isolated and even the people in the North wants him out. I think mainly because they felt betrayed by the fact that he did not vocally supported Thaksin's return and keeping his distance away from him. Another reason is that the Northern Thais are not as vocal as those in Bangkok. And even worse, we are sure that the Army really doesn't supports him.
So the next few months will be quite interesting. Most probably we will have another election and I do hope those PAD leaders will be arrested for the recent events. These jokers are actually quite dangerous as they believed in mob rules rather than real democracy. As I have told a friend before. No matter how righteous you may declare yourself to be. You should respect the law and the current government till the end of the term. If you are able to prove that they are corrupt or a cheat (in elections). Then bring them to court. (Thai courts are quite independant from the legislatives as proven). Social discord and disobedient should be the final straw if the courts are unfair. They way they behave are like spoiled brats. Creating havoc and damage to the country because their demands are not met.
Same goes to Samak. Stop being power crazy and resign and let another PPP candidate take over. If not, call for fresh elections and win this time without proclaiming yourself to be Thaksin's proxy (see if you can win :P) But I guess its too late for him now.
Politics in Thailand.
Alas... just when things sound promising for my wife. Thai politics is into another low point again. The recent ugly protests and standoffs seems so deja vu again...
The problem with PM Samak is that he is not as decisive as he looks. He should have asked the court to apply for warrants of arrest for the leaders of PAD long before it blew out of hand. Now its a bit too late. The only two person who could intervene are either the King or the Chief of Army.
Still, my fingers are crossed and hopefully, everything will be resolved as fast as possible.
Politics in Thailand has always been ugly. Filled with scandals and corruption. But yet the country is still progressing (much much slower pace though). So kind of makes one wonder.... If such an incident happens in Singapore, such a major protest that will upset the gahment... what would really happen? Would our army intervene? Still trying hard to picture it. heheh
The problem with PM Samak is that he is not as decisive as he looks. He should have asked the court to apply for warrants of arrest for the leaders of PAD long before it blew out of hand. Now its a bit too late. The only two person who could intervene are either the King or the Chief of Army.
Still, my fingers are crossed and hopefully, everything will be resolved as fast as possible.
Politics in Thailand has always been ugly. Filled with scandals and corruption. But yet the country is still progressing (much much slower pace though). So kind of makes one wonder.... If such an incident happens in Singapore, such a major protest that will upset the gahment... what would really happen? Would our army intervene? Still trying hard to picture it. heheh
Thailand in mourning.
Think most of you already knew from the news that the elder sister of Thailand's king HRH (Her Royal Highness) Princess Galyani Vadhana just passed away. The whole country is mourning and people are wearing either black or white everywhere.
As a foreigner here, I am in a bit of a culture shock regarding the Thai people and their beloved king. The recent birthday bash for the king feels more like performing a religious event rather than real partying or celebration. Its pretty scary as you cannot (even as a foreigner) critised the monarchy at all. So if you do say something disrespectful or even questions any issues regarding the monarchy to a Thai, the chances is that they will get offended is very very high.
I do like the King. He's smart, hardworking and genuinely concerned for the poor and I do believe most people who are critical about the monarchy are not actually criticising the king. Its the people who serves indirectly or directly in between the monarchy and the peasants are the one making the real trouble (the rich, powerful and noble people). And I do sincerely think they are the one controlling the country and how people should behave in front of the Thai royal family.
And its getting worst. Recently, a well known website was shut down by new laws imposed by the interim government. This all leads to an interesting thought for Singapore too. LKY (you know who) is like a King (more like Emperor :P ) and he too, are served by some middle people that is currently blinding him with false information. So maybe its not his fault for having the pay rise. (yeah right).. And another thing I wonder is there any Singaporean that pray and worship him (you know who) like the Thais do??
As a foreigner here, I am in a bit of a culture shock regarding the Thai people and their beloved king. The recent birthday bash for the king feels more like performing a religious event rather than real partying or celebration. Its pretty scary as you cannot (even as a foreigner) critised the monarchy at all. So if you do say something disrespectful or even questions any issues regarding the monarchy to a Thai, the chances is that they will get offended is very very high.
I do like the King. He's smart, hardworking and genuinely concerned for the poor and I do believe most people who are critical about the monarchy are not actually criticising the king. Its the people who serves indirectly or directly in between the monarchy and the peasants are the one making the real trouble (the rich, powerful and noble people). And I do sincerely think they are the one controlling the country and how people should behave in front of the Thai royal family.
And its getting worst. Recently, a well known website was shut down by new laws imposed by the interim government. This all leads to an interesting thought for Singapore too. LKY (you know who) is like a King (more like Emperor :P ) and he too, are served by some middle people that is currently blinding him with false information. So maybe its not his fault for having the pay rise. (yeah right).. And another thing I wonder is there any Singaporean that pray and worship him (you know who) like the Thais do??
PPP victory (as predicted)
I forgot about writing Thailand's election but I had a discussion once with my Ang Mo friend. He hoped the Democratic Party would win. (Nice chap who studied in Oxford and speaks fluent English). But I told him its not that possible as Thaksin made a formidable job of making the poor people (the rural people) happy.
He started the 30 baht universal medical programme and other populist reforms that strikes a chord with the majority rural Thai citizens. Even though he is corrupt, the party members and grassroots of the TRT really work the ground. In short, the people may not really vote for Thaksin but for their local grassroot leaders who really put in the effort to help them.
Just watched the late evening news and it seems People Power Party (PPP) which most of them are former Thaksin's TRT party leading the polls. So I should say now back to square one liao. The middle class, military and elites (NOT the majority) would start to make noises again.
Whoever says election is fair is bullshit. The one holding the guns or controlling the media are the one really doing the talking. So if PPP wants to really control and allow Thaksin back, they need to restructure the military leaders, which will then leads to another coup.
Very likely to have this scenario as the newly drafted constitution allows the military to intervene the current gahment policies if they find it necessary. So much for democracy.....
He started the 30 baht universal medical programme and other populist reforms that strikes a chord with the majority rural Thai citizens. Even though he is corrupt, the party members and grassroots of the TRT really work the ground. In short, the people may not really vote for Thaksin but for their local grassroot leaders who really put in the effort to help them.
Just watched the late evening news and it seems People Power Party (PPP) which most of them are former Thaksin's TRT party leading the polls. So I should say now back to square one liao. The middle class, military and elites (NOT the majority) would start to make noises again.
Whoever says election is fair is bullshit. The one holding the guns or controlling the media are the one really doing the talking. So if PPP wants to really control and allow Thaksin back, they need to restructure the military leaders, which will then leads to another coup.
Very likely to have this scenario as the newly drafted constitution allows the military to intervene the current gahment policies if they find it necessary. So much for democracy.....
Myanmar's Crisis
I doubt if any Singaporeans will really bother about the current crisis in Myanmar (Burma). The funny thing is that among the ASEAN countries, we had the most investments with Myanmar. Check out wiki and other their government website. It kinds of pain me to see the amount of inaction our own SG govt is dealing with the Junta. But of course, I think our gahment would prefer the current situation as Myanmar are rich in resources and due to the Junta's way of ruling. Our gahment get to buy cheap sand or other raw materials and exploit the poorer Burma. (Since the rest of the world except China, Thailand and India are not dealing with them).
Burma used to be the richest among the ASEAN. Now it came to this. My recent trip to KengTung was quite enjoyable by the hospitality shown by the peaceful people there (except the bloody military of course) and I sincerely think our gahment could do more by putting the Junta on check by stop dealing with them.
Sad to say, our gahment is to pragmatic and selfish. Rather we get rich then help others. But the funny thing hor... is how come our gahment always give money to Indonesia when there is Tsunami or Earthquake??
Anyway, wife called back to KengTung and everything is fine there. No protest and at all... people in KengTung is a bit more comfortable due to the close access to China (less than 300km will get to Kun Ming). Still, how long this will last I will not know. The Burmese people wants the military to be out of politics but without any physical support (military) from the international community. Doubt it will change, unless someday, someone in the Junta army is able to make that change for good.
Burma used to be the richest among the ASEAN. Now it came to this. My recent trip to KengTung was quite enjoyable by the hospitality shown by the peaceful people there (except the bloody military of course) and I sincerely think our gahment could do more by putting the Junta on check by stop dealing with them.
Sad to say, our gahment is to pragmatic and selfish. Rather we get rich then help others. But the funny thing hor... is how come our gahment always give money to Indonesia when there is Tsunami or Earthquake??
Anyway, wife called back to KengTung and everything is fine there. No protest and at all... people in KengTung is a bit more comfortable due to the close access to China (less than 300km will get to Kun Ming). Still, how long this will last I will not know. The Burmese people wants the military to be out of politics but without any physical support (military) from the international community. Doubt it will change, unless someday, someone in the Junta army is able to make that change for good.
These are good stuff.
Courtesy of Sammyboy Alfresco Forum.
The first video is not as impressive or funny but quite interesting anyway.
The second one is an inspiration from the first. Which to me is really quite good. (Especially the ending part.) Do watch it before if possible. It was uploaded 7 days ago and managed to generate 10k views.
But this makes me ponder... seems like our "old man" seems to get more and more hated by the young people....
Anyway.. will be mass mailing this to all my friends... hehe
*UPDATE I kind of found the source of the photos in the end of video 2. Here are the links by the same photographer. Much Kudos to him to show us how much "progress" we had made these pass few years.
Homeless People of Singapore
Beggars and Peddlars
The first video is not as impressive or funny but quite interesting anyway.
The second one is an inspiration from the first. Which to me is really quite good. (Especially the ending part.) Do watch it before if possible. It was uploaded 7 days ago and managed to generate 10k views.
But this makes me ponder... seems like our "old man" seems to get more and more hated by the young people....
Anyway.. will be mass mailing this to all my friends... hehe
*UPDATE I kind of found the source of the photos in the end of video 2. Here are the links by the same photographer. Much Kudos to him to show us how much "progress" we had made these pass few years.
Homeless People of Singapore
Beggars and Peddlars
An Inconvenient Truth
There's actually 2 issues regarding the title of this post. Totally not related at all, but I am going to the original and more important (global) of the 2 issue.
I heard about this film last year and didn't managed to catch it. Finally managed to get hold of a DVD copy from my Ang Mo friend here in Maesai. ITs so damn good that I highly recommend this to all my friends.
Its a pity Al Gore got cheated out of the US presidency. The world might be a different place if he was to be in charge. The documentary basically is like a lecture on Global Warming. Its very real as in the documentary, there are proofs and horrifying pictures of disappearing glaciers and changes to the climate since the last 10 years. Within the span of 10 years, some rivers have dried out and part of Greenland and Antarctica got melted off. If the rate continues, in our lifespan (another 10 to 30 years) the sea level will rise 20 feet if we continue to pollute our planet.
Please if you could, get a copy and watch it and recommend it to others. We did this to the planet, all of us and Al Gore said if all of us just do our part, we still could reverse the situation.
If you really do not have time even for a movie, go here and read up about it. Its that REAL and URGENT. 2012 Mayan doomsday might be true if we continue to abuse our Mother Earth.
Youtube banned in Thailand
Yup. Youtube.com is banned again (the second time)in Thailand according to the latest news due to this. The first time they banned for a short time is after the military coup, there was a clip on Thaksin on youtube.
To the joker who did the video, please be more sensitive in making a Thai King video. I know its a norm in the western countries to make fun of their monarchy or leaders but here in Thailand, they are zealots against the tarnishing of the king's image. An Angmo got jailed 10 years for defacing the King's poster. So to all those who visit Thailand. Be careful not to show "disrespect" to the monarchy.
Anyway, to the Thai zealots who banned youtube. Why so sensitive also?? The clip might appeared at some other websites and could you ban all of them? Information is free and so is each person's right. If the Thai people feel offensive about the clip they could just ignore the link. What you are doing is negative to foreigners who stay in Thailand. By behaving this way, more people will find it an excuse to challenge and make fun of your beloved King.
I just hate censorship. Singapore jialat, Thailand even lagi worst.
To the joker who did the video, please be more sensitive in making a Thai King video. I know its a norm in the western countries to make fun of their monarchy or leaders but here in Thailand, they are zealots against the tarnishing of the king's image. An Angmo got jailed 10 years for defacing the King's poster. So to all those who visit Thailand. Be careful not to show "disrespect" to the monarchy.
Anyway, to the Thai zealots who banned youtube. Why so sensitive also?? The clip might appeared at some other websites and could you ban all of them? Information is free and so is each person's right. If the Thai people feel offensive about the clip they could just ignore the link. What you are doing is negative to foreigners who stay in Thailand. By behaving this way, more people will find it an excuse to challenge and make fun of your beloved King.
I just hate censorship. Singapore jialat, Thailand even lagi worst.
Fever and bombs.
FEVER
Girl girl was very sick today :( . We took her to a clinic and her temperature was a shocking 40.3 degrees. The doctor immediately asked the nurse to give her an injection and a cold bath. It pains both of us seeing girl girl crying and screaming while the missy applied the cold bath on her. After the bath, her temp dropped till 38. Still high but at least it dropped. The doctor told us to monitor her and if her temperature increases again, she will need to be admitted to a hospital.
Now she is sleeping while I type this and her last reading is a normal 37. Still, we need to be with her and monitor her through the night. Now girl girl very angry with us for ignoring her when she is suffering her cold bath treatment. Can tell the trust between us has temporary broken. She don't allow anyone except mummy to carry her and she cries if mummy tries to adjust her and change her clothes.
BOMBS
Another thing is the bomb scarce here. Seems like the Bangkok blast is making everyone nervous here. There were rumours that there are bombs found at Big C (something like carrefour) in Chiang Rai and the Tesco Lotus shopping mall in Maesai is a target too. There are a lot of uncertainties as till this day, no one is sure who is responsible for the bombs. Still, there were news in the Net and media that witnesses see military personal dropped the bombs at the location. Might be a big conspiracy by the Thai military to use this as an excuse to keep them in power. Still, all these are speculations and hope the matters solves sooner as I will be travelling to Bangkok soon.
Girl girl was very sick today :( . We took her to a clinic and her temperature was a shocking 40.3 degrees. The doctor immediately asked the nurse to give her an injection and a cold bath. It pains both of us seeing girl girl crying and screaming while the missy applied the cold bath on her. After the bath, her temp dropped till 38. Still high but at least it dropped. The doctor told us to monitor her and if her temperature increases again, she will need to be admitted to a hospital.
Now she is sleeping while I type this and her last reading is a normal 37. Still, we need to be with her and monitor her through the night. Now girl girl very angry with us for ignoring her when she is suffering her cold bath treatment. Can tell the trust between us has temporary broken. She don't allow anyone except mummy to carry her and she cries if mummy tries to adjust her and change her clothes.
BOMBS
Another thing is the bomb scarce here. Seems like the Bangkok blast is making everyone nervous here. There were rumours that there are bombs found at Big C (something like carrefour) in Chiang Rai and the Tesco Lotus shopping mall in Maesai is a target too. There are a lot of uncertainties as till this day, no one is sure who is responsible for the bombs. Still, there were news in the Net and media that witnesses see military personal dropped the bombs at the location. Might be a big conspiracy by the Thai military to use this as an excuse to keep them in power. Still, all these are speculations and hope the matters solves sooner as I will be travelling to Bangkok soon.
School Banding, Another temporary cure??
Since I am a father now, naturally I am worried about my child's education. I have been reading that streaming in primary school is going to be phased out in 2008. See here.
I find it a bit amusing, streaming and banding, two different words yet still the same thing. Separate those who are weak and the elites. Its so typical of our gahment and culture to do this. The smart ones will still be in a special band right? hehehe Oh.. if you read, the GEP (special band) is to mingle with the "normal" ones on other ECA. What a joke.
Why not solve the root of the problem by stopping the paper chase! We could start in the public sector. Good grades and paper does not mean he should be manager or paid higher. Its a simple solution that I believe that our gahment (especially SAF and the police) could lead by example. Allow those with lesser paper qualifications to have a chance in handling bigger and important task. Don't deny them the chance of promotion just because he is not a degree holder. Try that out for a few years and you might find that these people will normally work harder than the smart ones. Since they know they already wasted their time in school, they will not waste more in their work life. Deny their chance of advancement, they would sure be lazy and contempt (why work hard? still the same, kena condemned)
Would our Singapore gahment change??? hahaha.. Doubt so..
btw, some Thai military officers are only primary educated(I met a colonel whol told me this)... they work their way up...not like our OCS fiasco..
I find it a bit amusing, streaming and banding, two different words yet still the same thing. Separate those who are weak and the elites. Its so typical of our gahment and culture to do this. The smart ones will still be in a special band right? hehehe Oh.. if you read, the GEP (special band) is to mingle with the "normal" ones on other ECA. What a joke.
Why not solve the root of the problem by stopping the paper chase! We could start in the public sector. Good grades and paper does not mean he should be manager or paid higher. Its a simple solution that I believe that our gahment (especially SAF and the police) could lead by example. Allow those with lesser paper qualifications to have a chance in handling bigger and important task. Don't deny them the chance of promotion just because he is not a degree holder. Try that out for a few years and you might find that these people will normally work harder than the smart ones. Since they know they already wasted their time in school, they will not waste more in their work life. Deny their chance of advancement, they would sure be lazy and contempt (why work hard? still the same, kena condemned)
Would our Singapore gahment change??? hahaha.. Doubt so..
btw, some Thai military officers are only primary educated(I met a colonel whol told me this)... they work their way up...not like our OCS fiasco..
Some old blog entries...
I was going through my old blogs in naapl.org and stumbled on some entries that are worth mentioning here. Of course, most of the post are actually quite boring to read.
Here are some noticeable ones that I linked here for future references. Feel free to click to view the entries.
How to make Mac Fatt Choy - silly entry (recipe) on our favourite NAAPL joke
Hong Kong Trip - super long entry of my trip to HK (no pics though)
My reasons for blogging - as of title
Games I play - some games I enjoy playing and experiencing
A Reflection - a reflection on me on controlling heated debates
Very Funny Dream - funny dream of the kids at NSP with BC and others
Joy, anxiety and a lot of mix bag feelings - about being father soon
Tuk Tuk Incident -interesting encounter in Thailand
Maesai Violence - another interesting event in Maesai Thailand
GE 2006 Fatboy version - politics
Let's move on Part 2 - even more politics!!
A week on Fatherhood - first week experience of Xin Hui
Things you will never see in Singapore - one of the better blogs showcasing Thailand's creativeness in using their motorcycle
there are many more... if you are interested, you can go here and visit my old blog. :)
Here are some noticeable ones that I linked here for future references. Feel free to click to view the entries.
How to make Mac Fatt Choy - silly entry (recipe) on our favourite NAAPL joke
Hong Kong Trip - super long entry of my trip to HK (no pics though)
My reasons for blogging - as of title
Games I play - some games I enjoy playing and experiencing
A Reflection - a reflection on me on controlling heated debates
Very Funny Dream - funny dream of the kids at NSP with BC and others
Joy, anxiety and a lot of mix bag feelings - about being father soon
Tuk Tuk Incident -interesting encounter in Thailand
Maesai Violence - another interesting event in Maesai Thailand
GE 2006 Fatboy version - politics
Let's move on Part 2 - even more politics!!
A week on Fatherhood - first week experience of Xin Hui
Things you will never see in Singapore - one of the better blogs showcasing Thailand's creativeness in using their motorcycle
there are many more... if you are interested, you can go here and visit my old blog. :)
Why the title Singaporean[Quitter]
`Fair-weather Singaporeans will run away whenever the country runs into stormy weather. I call them "quitters".' Former Prime Minister Goh Chock Tong of Singapore at National Day Rally 2002
Think the above link summurise why the title. Hahaha. Anyway, if any of you bother to read the whole speech, 2 more paragraphs from the line above, will find that I might ber a "stayer"?
Number of people leaving and becoming quitters are of course, is still rising according to here.
I am not sure about myself as still I am on Tourist Visa in Thailand (more reasons on that later).
I like Singapore, I do and mainly because I grew up with my family and friends there. Every living memories of Singapore are still within me everyday and time over here in Thailand. But there are certain realities that I must come to terms with if I wish to stay in Singapore.
First, I have a baby and financially, I could not afford my wife and baby to be in Singapore. (EVEN if my wife and baby could come.)
Second, Education in Singapore is still stick to papers qualification and I do not want my baby girl to start competing so early. Kids over here are genuinely happy even without the fancy computer games or toys. I want my children to be in such environment.
Third, the amount of money I earned now in Singapore does not garuntee that I will retire early and have a easier lifestyle when I am old.
Fourth, I like Maesai, its peaceful and quiet. And of course, I have a big house here that I could never dream I could own one in Singapore.
In short, 10 or 20 years down the road, I most probably will find myself settling in Thailand for real . Unless there are some major changes in Singapore that suits my needs, I will be a quitter for sure.
Think the above link summurise why the title. Hahaha. Anyway, if any of you bother to read the whole speech, 2 more paragraphs from the line above, will find that I might ber a "stayer"?
Number of people leaving and becoming quitters are of course, is still rising according to here.
I am not sure about myself as still I am on Tourist Visa in Thailand (more reasons on that later).
I like Singapore, I do and mainly because I grew up with my family and friends there. Every living memories of Singapore are still within me everyday and time over here in Thailand. But there are certain realities that I must come to terms with if I wish to stay in Singapore.
First, I have a baby and financially, I could not afford my wife and baby to be in Singapore. (EVEN if my wife and baby could come.)
Second, Education in Singapore is still stick to papers qualification and I do not want my baby girl to start competing so early. Kids over here are genuinely happy even without the fancy computer games or toys. I want my children to be in such environment.
Third, the amount of money I earned now in Singapore does not garuntee that I will retire early and have a easier lifestyle when I am old.
Fourth, I like Maesai, its peaceful and quiet. And of course, I have a big house here that I could never dream I could own one in Singapore.
In short, 10 or 20 years down the road, I most probably will find myself settling in Thailand for real . Unless there are some major changes in Singapore that suits my needs, I will be a quitter for sure.
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