RIP! APRIL FOOLS’ DAY        

There is nothing left, not a single trick,       

Because to one truth we’ll have to stick.    
Not even the odd lie or a funny prank         

Can stop us from being honest and frank.

Any news that is found to be fake                 

Will no longer be a joke we can take.           

Sadly, that’s all that I’m allowed to say        

On the quiet death of April Fools’ Day.        

UNDERSTANDING SINGAPORE’S POLITICAL SYSTEM

Amidst all the recriminations after the Sylvia Lim “test balloons” saga, let all parties take one step back and listen to what the late great LKY said on 12 April 2006 in a CNA special forum “Why My Vote Matters - A Dialogue With Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew”. In it, I want everyone to take note of 2 important points:

(1) He admitted that he deliberately created an unlevel playing-field in Singapore in favour of the PAP. His intention was to ensure that Singapore is governed by good leaders that he had handpicked, but he never attempted to suppress debate in Parliament or sabotage its function;

(2) He told us why he had created such an unfair political system as he concluded the interview: “I hope I have enlightened you on why we do what we do. It is not for the fun of it. It’s for a very serious purpose - to ensure a good government for Singapore and an opposition when it gets in will be equally good!” In other words, he didn’t care who ruled Singapore in the future as long as its rulers are good and strong.

So, let all sides be reminded that Singapore’s unique political system does not conform to the ideals of classic Parliamentary democracy, not because the incumbent politicians are supposed to hold on to power at all costs, but it is designed to ensure that whoever governs Singapore in the future must be good leaders who are not only able to win the votes of the people but (on the part of the opposition) must also prove that they are strong enough to overcome the high bar of the great odds placed against them to get there.

The opposition cannot blame the PAP for their poor performance over the last 53 years. They only have themselves to blame for not being good enough to overcome the unfair hurdles of the system. That’s because LKY himself, when he was in the opposition, proved that he could overcome such hurdles to build from his single seat and 2 or 3 others to what is today a party that is invincible since 1965. The 70% are not fools, but they vote the way they do for a good reason.

THE PERSISTENT CULTURE OF MESSY PUBLIC TABLES

Background: To tackle the difficult problem of persuading people to return their trays at hawker centres in Singapore, two hawker centres implemented a system of customers having to pay a small deposit of 50 cents to a dollar which they get back when they return their trays.

Why are customers of hawker centres so determined; nay, in fact, so hell-bent on leaving a mess behind at the dining tables after finishing their meals? You can almost imagine them walking away with a smirk on their faces, as if saying triumphantly to themselves: “You wanna use my table next? Ha, not so easy! You jolly well clean up my mess for me first!” That appears to be the only possible explanation for such adamant refusal to do their minimum duty of cleaning up after themselves, a basic human habit they should have mastered at pre-school, if not at their mothers’ knees. Patho-psychologists would have a field day if they were to come to Singapore from all corners of the Earth to study this unique phenomenon here for their next thesis. 

I really have no answer for this. Why would 50 to 90% of customers choose to carry hot bowls of soups and food with their bare hands just to escape using a tray; or to just return the trays but leaving their leftovers, bones, utensils and crockery still strewn on the tables? Just to beat the system? What does society owe them to make them want to take such revenge? I wonder.

POLITICAL SUCCESSION IN SINGAPORE
Who will be the next Prime Minister?

In view of Singapore's traditionally orderly and non-contentious political succession process, it is interesting to note that the contenders Mr Heng Swee Keat, Mr Chan Chun Sing and Mr Ong Ye Kung have been introduced early to the public this time, as if PAP is trying to gauge the public's response to each of the candidates.

Mr Ong Ye Kung

Already, there had been early endorsements from respected voices. Popular public intellectual, Professor Tommy Koh described Mr Ong: "I would describe him as intellectually brilliant, capable of thinking out of the box and coming up with creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. He has both high IQ and EQ. He is charismatic and an eloquent speaker. He has good leadership qualities and is very likeable. He is a man of integrity." With such glowing praises, Mr Ong seems to have qualities to tick every box. Another commented: "Our next PM, hopefully."

Mr Ong is also my favoured candidate for the same reasons as eloquently listed by Professor Koh.  Some say that he is too inexperienced, having in Parliament for only 3 years. Also, he lost in his maiden election in 2011 as part of the PAP's GRC team in Aljunied GRC and he could only enter Parliament by being switched to Sembawang GRC in 2015. To me, paradoxically, that is further endorsement of his qualities. It means that he is able to overcome such early handicaps and rise in his political fortunes so startlingly fast. If we believe that a leader is born, not made, then Mr Ong is definitely "The One"! It's also about time that we have a leader with fresh ideas and fresh approaches to meet the challenges of modern times.

Mr Heng Swee Keat

Former Senior Minister of State For Foreign Affairs Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed seems to favour Mr Heng Swee Keat. He even publicly asked Mr Heng in a public dialogue session whether he was "ready to be Singapore's fourth Prime Minister" and voiced his disappointment when Mr Heng sidestepped the question. 

To me, Mr Heng is a safe candidate as he gives the impression that he is a team player, a moderate voice, a rational person without any controversy and a competent minister with good experience in public office even before entering politics. Unfortunately, he collapsed in May 2016 during a cabinet meeting and was later found to have suffered a haemorrhagic stroke needing immediate neurosurgery caused by a ruptured aneurysm. He could only return to work in December 2016 and he had to be assisted by National Development Minister Mr Lawrence Wong who had to be given the additional responsibility of Second Minister of Finance. Now, does anyone have any lingering doubts about the completeness of Mr Heng's mental, intellectual and physical recovery?

Mr Chan Chun Sing

So far, no prominent figure has praised Mr Chan Chun Sing in public, but one would recall that he was labelled as a future Prime Minister when he first entered Parliament. Interestingly, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed spoke cryptically when he said: "I trust the PAP will not choose its leader based on popularity alone, but choose a leader who is the best man who can bring progress and unite people, not necessarily someone who is likeable." Does he already know PAP's choice and is not telling? But, how can a disliked politician unite Singaporeans and how does that make him the best man?

Unfortunately for Mr Chan, after six years as an MP, one is hard-pressed to remember anything remarkable about him except for his early habit of playfully asking his listeners to "Ki Chiu" (a hokkien phrase for putting up your hand to respond or ask a question), and his gaffe of a "Freudian slip" of referring to Mdm Halimah Yacob twice in Parliament as "Madam President" when she was still the Speaker of the House in February 2017, seven months before her inauguration as President in September 2017 after a walkover. He therefore suffers the disadvantage of being remembered as associated with public dissatisfaction about the conduct and result of the Presidential Election. Nevertheless, Mr Zainul's hint seems to indicate that Mr Chan is the establishment choice for some reason.

Perhaps, the best way to judge them is to look at their body language because it is a reflection of what they truly believe about themselves:

Mr Ong Ye Kung - serious, upright, confident and has the looks of a leader.

Mr Heng Swee Keat - friendly, moderate, trustworthy and acceptable to all.

Mr Chan Chun Sing - earnest, intelligent, predictable and ready to take the post.

May Singapore make the right choice!

LONG WALKS, SHORT TRYST

Long walks,

Nobody talks.

Cool breeze,

Inhibitions freeze.

Silent glances,

Romantic chances.

Knowing smile,

Bodies tactile.

Park bench,

Limbs clench.

Lovers’ delight,

Scarlet moonlight.

Undo The Undoing

How do I unsee a violation so ugly,

In a world cold, hard and lonely?

How to unlive life devoid of meaning,

Without a single joyful song to sing?

How can I unhear the wails of pain,

So horrific that it numbs my brain?

How to unfeel the guilt in my heart,

For the crimes of Man I’m a part?

How do I to untaste the bitter potion,

When spitting out is not an option?

How to unsmell the rotting stench,

When chained to the torture bench?

How to unknow inconvenient truths,

Even if I think fast and loose?

Indeed, how to undo the undoing,

If everything is coming and going?

HOCUS POTUS

Melania is such a great FLOTUS

She’s become the new public focus,

Diverting us from the erratic POTUS

And his exasperating hocus pocus!

DARLING

Darling, you set my heart on fire

By being the object of my desire.

Like a romantic song I’ll never tire,

You satisfy a need for love so dire.

Frankly, you’re all that I require.

Even if I’m in a desperate quagmire,

When my life is hanging on a wire,

You will be there to lift me higher.

You know that I’m not a liar,

To say that it’s you I truly admire.

NOTHING’S GETTING DONE

Shooting steam from every orifice

Amidst frenzied work at the office.

Trying to find our place in the sun,

But nothing's getting done.

Saving every nickel, every dime

Just can’t make up for lost time.

Forgetting passion, forgoing fun,

Yet, nothing's getting done.

Who is there to take the blame?

No, they’ll simply raise their game.

Appearing as things nicely run,

In reality, nothing's getting done.

Waiting for a chance to have a say,

If the status quo is here to stay?

But now the non-event has begun,

You know nothing's getting done.

Slaving to the whims of the majority

Is to be part of this mass insanity.

Relieving us a duty we can’t shun

Because nothing’s getting done.

SEPTEMBER ELEVEN

In America's September Eleven,

In the year Twenty O One,

The people cried to heaven

Because the terrorists won.

In Singapore's September Eleven,

In the year Twenty Seventeen,

Meritocracy went to heaven

Under a democratic smokescreen.