One of the nicest performance I have ever seen! Just like a ballerina in a musical box! This one is actually a competition in Singapore! Amazing. Apparently theres another mega event in June, and the famous Suzie Q would be coming to Singapore! Who’s interested to go watch?...
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Read an article on The Guardian recently about ‘Greece’s doomed generation‘. It basically talks about how Greece is hit with all the Austerity measures imposed by IMF after they hit the economic crisis in 2009/2010. Somehow, the more ‘developed’ you become as a nation, the less you are willing to give up. This seems to resonate with me in the recent Singapore GE, and this article. In the 1996-1998 asian economic crisis, the Thai, Indonesian, Vietnam, even Malaysia and Singapore got hit by a sudden crash in the currencies. Thailand and Indonesian were the worst hit. IMF imposed measures and controls on the Government then in order to rein in spending. Essentially, that means they gave the reins of the economy to an external party, who’s job is just to cut your spending. The citizens of these country then went through pain, because budgets were cut, non-essential services were restrained. Now we see the same in Greece because they have fallen hard from grace. The difference is that because of a higher education level, and that they are used to the material comforts in life, there is massive protests. I went to my favourite site, wikipedia, to look up on Greece and Singapore. It’s amazing how similar they are in terms of economy! Greece Singapore GDP $302 billion $235 bilion GDP per capita $29,240.00 $50,300.00 GDP by sector 4% agriculture 17.6% industry 78.5% services 0% agriculture 26.8% industry 73.2% services Labour force 5.05 million 3.03 million Public Debt 142.8% of GDP 117.6% of GDP Foreign Reserves $5.546 billion $187.8 billion Their demise came out simply because of falling state revenue and increasing government expenditures. How fast the ball changes. The Singapore GE that just ended made me wonder. We are like Greece, with no natural resources (typically), relying on a few economic engines and largely the services industry, but otherwise, essentially nothing to fall back on. I hope I would never have to see the day that Singapore falls from grace. Before 2008,...
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The GRC system in Singapore must be one of the most criticized point of the election system in the last many years! One of the main criticism is that it does not serve it’s primary pupose well, and it only serves the incumbent party in preventing opposition candidates from getting into Parliament. But before we judge, let’s look at the Paliamentary systems of various countries. Singapore follows a Westminister system from the British. This basically means there is an overlap of legislative and executive arm in the Government, as the ministers are typically chosen from the MPs or Members of Parliament. In simple terms, a Government typically consists of the Judicial arm which judges right and wrong, the Legislative arm which makes the laws of the land and the Executive arm, which basically consists of the Ministries and involves the running of the country. Theres also 2 main types of government, being unicameral, which means there is only 1 legislative chamber (such as Singapore), and bicameral, which typically consists of 2 chambers, being the Senate and the House of Representative. Most countries in the world would have a bicameral system, unless the country is small. In summary, Singapore has a Westminister system with a unicameral government, consisting of 87 Members of Parliament and 20 Ministers, ruling a 5 million population on a 710 km sq piece of land. Some people tend to be confused on how a MP and a Minister differ. Basically a MP, or Member of Parliament, is someone who takes care of a certain constituency in the country, bringing up issues to Parliament to debate, and voting on these issues. As a collective, they decide on the law of the land. A Minister is essentially the head of a Ministry in the civil service. They are like your CEOs and they would execute on the plans of the government. In Malaysia they basically have a Westminister system with bicameral government of House and Senate. There are a total 70 Senators, 2 each from the...
read moreOne of the nicest songs I have listen to recently. Really quite an emotional song. For those who didn’t know the backstory behind the song, Chris Medina was one of the contestants for S10 of American Idol, and he released this song after his elimination, which is basically written for his financee who suffered a brain injury during a car wreck. Now with that backstory in mind. Enjoy. Anywhere you are, I am near Anywhere you go, I’ll be there Anytime you whisper my name, you’ll see How every single promise I keep Cuz what kind of guy would I be If I was to leave when you need me most What are words If you really don’t mean them When you say them What are words If they’re only for good times Then they don’t When it’s love Yeah, you say them out loud Those words, They never go away They live on, even when we’re gone And I know an angel was sent just for me And I know I’m meant to be where I am And I’m gonna be Standing right beside her tonight And I’m gonna be by your side I would never leave when she needs me most What are words If you really don’t mean them When you say them What are words If they’re only for good times Then they don’t When it’s love Yeah, you say them out loud Those words, They never go away They live on, even when we’re gone Anywhere you are, I am near Anywhere you go, I’ll be there And I’m gonna be here forever more Every single promise I keep Cuz what kind of guy would I be If I was to leave when you need me most I’m forever keeping my angel...
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Okay this is going to be my last election rally review before polling day. After doing 1 on Nicole Seah of NSP, and Tan Jee Say from SDP, I have to do 1 from PAP. This time it’s Tharman Shanmugaratnam from PAP. Tharman is definitely one of the more respected Ministers from the PAP. As the Minister of Finance, definitely he is more into the numbers of things. His speech is actually re-hashed by the newspapers already, but I would like to add my point of views. He starts of by saying that any serious debate on Singapore economic policies have to start with the basic realities of the world we live in. Things like how to create jobs, how to help low income workers, how to make sure we upgrade jobs, etc… basically requires money first. That is the only prudent thing to do. We have to spend what we have and not overspend. He then goes on to say that “It is a world that is very different from where we were 5 years ago. And it will be very different 10 years from now. ” Later on, he described that he was in the IMFC meeting 2 weeks ago, and the mood was downbeat. He goes on to say that these people are not congenital pessimist, but the mood was downbeat and it was more downbeat today than 1 year ago. It’s because there is a very real risk for a setback in global economies in US, Europe and even Asia. “The world is 1 shock away from another major crisis.” according to the World Bank President. The problems that led to the crisis is not over. Excessive household debt, Governments that overborrowed, Banks that are in a fragile state. And these problem will be with us for many years to come. He then goes on to talk about government credit rating in risk and banks have to raise or refinance up to $3.2 trillion in the next 2 years. These...
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