Christmas mood. Empathy.

Merry Christmas!

Oh, it's a wee bit early, but I'm getting into the mood. I have been so busy at work for the past 1+ months, coming home at least after 9pm nearly every night.

To some, it might be usual. But I choose not to - my family comes first.

However the year end activities are piling up, and everyday there are meetings after meetings to attend, issues after issues to settle.

I am SURE glad the Christmas weekend is finally here. And I thank God for Christmas. Makes me re-think my priorities, my purpose, my destiny.

Thank you Jesus.

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Wrote this earlier in draft, but never had the time to publish.

Read this report:

• More women in politics, please says Madam Minister
  By Clement Mesenas, TODAY Posted: 18 December

Queries that will never be answered:

1. Both her husband and she probably are high income earners, whereby if anyone of them quits temporarily, they still have much leftover savings for the single income earner to survive the next 5 years.
   
   How many of us have this kind of luxury?
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2. She did not mention the number of maids to help out in the house.
   
   Again, how many of us can be single income earners, have a maid(s) and also focus on the kids after work?
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3. Probably she had the spending power to bring in tuition teachers (among the best) to tutor her kids, I assume?
   
   How many readers here know that they had to go through the exams with their kids in today Singapore?
   -

Please don't ask any of the women to be like you, Mrs Lim. You are definitely not the role model I like my wife to emulate.

There are many women who are struggling to find balance being a wife, accountant, mother, employee and citizen. Many do not hold directorships, nor have 6 months bonuses, or even pay increase/adjustments peg to the top 5 earners.

All I ask is for you to have empathy and compassion when you implement policies. Be aware that not many are blessed like you.

Be humble.

All I want for Christmas is my PS3

Was reading an article in the Home Section from the elite newspaper, The Straits Times.

Avid gamers willingly pay more for these PS3s
by Leung Wai-Leng & Lim Yee Hung, 12 Dec 2006

Spring Singapore is going to fine (jail and/or S$10k) the retailers for selling parallel-imported PS3s because (quoted):

"And they may pose an electrical hazard to users, warns Spring Singapore, the agency that manages the Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Registration Scheme."

The gist is the scheme requires suppliers of high-risk electronic products to register their products with Spring.

It also reported that this did not damper the roaring trade in the consoles.

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This is another case of NUTS (No U-Turn Syndrome) - you need to see the U-Turn in order to U-Turn.
The questions that will never be answered:

• Knowing that PS3 has been released (but not in Singapore yet) and it will be a hot Christmas gift, why is Spring Singapore so slow in approving the sale and usage in Singapore?
• Isn't this a setback in trying to push the local gaming industry as cited during the recent games convention held in Singapore?

I totally understand and agree on the 'safe standards' for electronic products. I repeat, I am not against it.

But to put the stop just because Spring Singapore has not gotten round to approve it in time is just moot.

So Spring Singapore take heed - this is globalization for you. If I can't get it locally, I'll go e-Bay, Amazon, etc. It's akin to the Foreign Talent policy.

I will get my PS3 for Christmas.

PS. I am an avid non-console gamer. I understand how a gamer feels. Long live World of Warcraft!

One Elite, One Non-Elite, One Singapore

Was reading the speech by MP Jessica Teo on Beware of Politics of Envy (Dec 7).

Here are my comments to another commenter named Yeo Joey and also to her speech.

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“Elites must be humble and be sensitive on when will confidence cross over and be perceived as arrogance; non-elites must strive hard and believe in themselves. ”

Do you know why there is such a divide? Becoz many of the policies implementions came from the ‘elites’. The results affect the ‘non-elites’. And it always seem that the policies favor the ‘elites’, ‘white-horse’, upclass, whatever you call it. Ask a common man on the street.

Take $200 dollars from a common man is different from the $200 taken from a rich man. It’s still the same amount, but it is relative.

Whom do you think were affected the most in the CPF cuts?

Now the economy is displaying strong growth, will there be a restoration as promised? If not, why promise it when there is no intention to fulfill it?

Individual character? More like perception of how society ‘grades’ you based on your achievements in life - scholarships, cars, salary grades, academics, etc. Like it or not, people change to the perception others place on you.

Need more? See WSM, and know the significant divide is already happening in the mindsets of people. Just a rant from a kid? I think not.

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On a side note:There are people who don’t take home 150k annually. For the non-elite, to strive hard without a good wage increase as compared to the increasing living cost seems unfair? Perhaps you should look at the household income percentile over the years.

How do you expect one to believe in oneself when the opportunities are limited, and people place a non-elite stigma on you?

Oh yes, the non-elites strive hard, work overtime, while the government asks the common man to pro-create and then increase the cost of living? How to? More GST hikes?

What makes you think the new poor does not work and strive hard? Do you know many of them takes up 2 jobs - day work and night shift to feed their families? And yet their take home pay may be less than even 1/4 of even my salary?

As the society moves on, these people don’t have degrees or academic backgrounds to push them through the ‘new’ globalization (everybody blames it on globalization. I have no idea why).
And then they face retrenchment at the magic 40. Will another company employ them? Did not these people also contribute to the society and economy of Singapore in the past?

Whose fault? Of course it’s not the government. Yet neither theirs.

I hope to bring you and MP Jessica to attention that not many people have the luxuries and opportunities perhaps like you do. There were many who left secondary school education in the past to work to provide for the family, ultimately contributing to the economy of Singapore. They are now 40-50+ of age. Can they and their family make it to the next 10 years?

Re-training? LOL.

Whatever happened to One People, One Nation, One Singapore?

Perhaps it can be changed to One Elite, One Non-Elite, One Singapore (forgive my satirical humor).
"

HK vs SG

HK lowered its coporate tax. SG followed suit.

HK booted the 5% GST proposal. SG followed with Singapore Budget 2007 Feedback. Which is no feedback at all in my entire life living in Singapore.

My gut feel is that it's going ahead, whether you feedback or not.

Well, the government can take this opportunity to win some votes over by being compassionate.

Let's wait a see.

Good read by Yawning Bread:
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2006/yax-688.htm