The Yawing of Yaw

The rumour of Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong bonking someone other than his wife is whetting the appetite of some newshounds. The latest I read [Link] shows that Yaw Shin Leong has maintained his silence over an alleged extramarital affair.

In recent years, there were prominent figures in politics and in industries who were rumoured to be involved in extramarital affairs. A prominent MP lawyer and a CEO of telco was rumoured to be bonking around too. Surprisingly, msm reporters then were not that aggressive in their digging to unearth the truth. I'm not aware of any reporter/journalist especially from msm approaching the MP or CEO for any comment on their alleged flings then.

Could it be due to their connection and/or the political party they belonged to?

Fair is fair, if investigative journalism is what is should be, why is handbrake applied on some while the the accelerator pedal stepped so hard on another? If they did not let the hounds out then, why let the hounds out now?

In nautical and flight dynamics, even in exquisite physical fitness training, we learn of yawing. If WP Hougang MP Yaw continues to yaw, he may, like the lawyer MP and the telco CEO before him, get out of this unscathed. That is, if he and/or his party members do not blink first  ;)

If the privacy of a minister is so entrenched in our system that his actual salary and bonuses cannot be revealed [Teo Chee Hean's parliamentary reply on why revealing a ministers' exact salary is an invasion of their privacy], who are we to question a minister's libido or who he bonks? Or that of any MP? Who are we to defend or condemn the bonker and/or bonkee)? Not unless the woman he bonked happens to be a wife, mother, sister, daughter or a close friend or relative. Even so, if the bonk was consensual, does one grit the teeth and pretend it never happen?

I believe the distinction between right and wrong, good and bad, ethos and ethics are fundamental values peculiar to a specific person. It depends also on the family upbringing, culture, beliefs (religious or otherwise) and even the political party that the specific person belongs to. To each his/her own.

In the mind of many Singaporeans:

• Is it ethical for so many members and relatives of one family to control so much of the wealth of Singapore? [Link]
• Is it ludicrous of PAP in insisting that HDB flats are subsidised?
• Is it right to use ISA to lock up political opponents for decades?
• Is it moral to lock up the money of people through CPF and force them to pay a processing fee when they need it to pay medical fees to heal themselves in polyclinics and hospitals? [Link]
• Is there ethos in jacking up ministers' salary then giving it a 40% discount to show their self-worth and sacrifice?

Is there such a thing as 'Meritocratic Corruption'?

Meanwhile, you may want to get yourself a 6-pack abs by eating right and yawing your core muscles.

feedmetothefish

It Isn't The Pay, Stupid, It's The Flaw In Character!

It is interesting to note that after Singaporean journalist Seah Chiang Nee's piece on "PAP mood turns sour over pay cuts" [Link], Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia Ong Keng Yong had to play defense and refute Seah's remarks [Link].  Just why did he do it?

• To prove Seah Chiang Nee wrong?
• To protect the integrity of PAP?
• To show that he is working to protect his rice bowl?
• To help Seah get more eyeballs in Little Speck [Link] and Star [Link]?

Apart from the mistake in MsGraceFu's designation, is there anything wrong in the opinion piece? If "Mr Seah is also incorrect in claiming that previous salary revision in 2007 gave ministers in Singapore an average pay rise of 60%", would it not be helpful for the High Commissioner to enlighten us on the correct percentage of the pay rise?  Or does he know?

One man's opinion piece can be another man's headache or "kay kang" (Hokkien for "extra/ unnecessary work") in preserving a highly paid position.

Sometimes, silence is golden. No matter how you cook it, the damage is done! The Ministerial Salary Review is a futile 'exercise in fooltility' that makes fools of many! 

A spade is a spade and here is my take.

Having lost Aljunied GRC and many votes in other constituencies in 2011 Election, PM Lee directed Gerard Ee to do Review on Ministers' Salary - hopefully to win more votes in the future. In his enthusiasm to wash the sin he committed in 2007 (paying himself and his ministers $millions after raising GST to 7%!), he created a greater sin by offering terms of reference that was ludicrously condescending and elitist to boot! "A compensation that shows discount on what private sector is getting"? Yes, the shame word is "discount" that denotes "sacrifice", "ethos" which means, "I'm fooking better than the $millions that you miserable commoners pay through your taxes, levies and GST. So be grateful for the sacrifices I'm making!" He may even add, “Please, get out of my elite uncaring face!”

Sadly, the sense of loss and unhappiness of his ministers was confirmed by the belly aching of MsGracefu [Link], the sordid sacrificial parliamentary performance by BG Tan Chuan-Jin [Link] and the reluctance and refusal of Lawrence Wong to let it rest [Link]. We cannot taste but, I'm sure by such outbursts, we can sense the "sour mood" in PAP !

The absurdity of Teo Chee Hian in saying that the 'c' word "corruption" was not even mentioned during the Salary Debate (meaning high pay =incorruptibility) is now a 'Sick Joke' that is puke inducing! The fact that he knew then about the arrest and bail of the SCDF Commander and Narco Chief on “allegations of serious personal misconduct"[Link] and still make a song and dance of the word "corruption" shows the pretense and the character that he is.

It isn't the pay, stupid, it is the flaw in the character of the avaricious that breeds corruption! 

By the way, anyone knows how much did the Narco and SCDF pay for their bail?

By now, the 'sour' that Chiang Nee mentioned may have turned 'Chow Sng'.

'Chow Sng' in Hokkien = 'Stink Sour'= "Putrid or Rotten"

feedmetothefish

The Sin Of CPF

I am sick. I'm very sick of the continual submission, gratitude and fear that PAP expect of us, the poor commoners of Singapore.

I just read about the sinful extortion of $3.14 on the poor sick by CPF here. [Link] Being an old fogey with a heart condition who visits Polyclinic regularly to stay alive, I too am a victim of such humiliation and financial loss. When I asked the the Polyclinic staff why I'm being penalised, she told me that it's CPF, not MOH, that gets to keep the admin/processing fee. Whoever gets to keep the $3.14 does not matter.

Imagine: I have been beaten up with parangs by CPF and/or MOH. They have chopped off my legs and left me incapacitated. (Make me pay CPF and Medisave). With no legs, I cannot walk. (I withdraw the $100 from Medisave to pay for my Polyclinic charges)  CPF/MOH then forces me to rent crutches from them so that I can walk (Pay admin/process fee of $3.14). Yes, I may sound like a Drama Grandpa, but baby, the truth hurts!

When I started worked in the 60's, I was told that I had to surrender 25% of my hard earned salary to CPF. Likewise, my boss bitched that he had to part with the same 25% too. However, we were comforted in knowing (then, not now!) that I'd be receiving and enjoying a lump sum in saving when I retire at age 55.

Fat Hope!

From the 1960's till now, the leeching CPF has changed the goalpost so many times that most Singaporeans (apart from Lim Swee Say [Link]) do not know where their CPF saving is going to. It used to be 'getting it all when you retire at 55' but now we are fooked by the following scamming schemes (or is it scheming scams? ):

1. Ordinary Account:
2. Special Account: (You Can't Touch This Till They Say You Can!)
3. Medisave Account: (You Can't Touch This Till They Say You Can!)
4. Retirement Account: (You Can't Touch This Till They Say You Can!)
5. Minimum Sum:  $131,000 (1 Jul 2011)  (You Can't Touch This Till They Say You Can!)
6. Medisave Required Amount: $32,000 (1 Jan 2012) [Link]  (You Can't Touch This Till They Say You Can!) When can, you fooking pay them a processing fee of $3.14!

We are such peaceful blokes that we do not question the actions but it is kind of jarring to note that decision makers in CPF simply suka suka decide the amount and time when we can enjoy what is due to us. It is only when we read in msm (usually in December) that we know that we've been fooked! Just who the fook are these decision makers anyway?

They tax you through your income, GST, ERP, levies on maids and what-have-you! They belly ache and make a song and dance of their ministerial salary "sacrifice" [Link]. Isn't that enough? Why the need to tax on the sick?

I may be wrong but this #$3.14 Medisave Outpatient Treatment Processing/Admin Fee can be a scam to discourage us from using CPF Medisave, hence prevent us from depleting lee funds that lee investors in Temasek and GIC can play with.  Possible?

If Health Minister Gan or any of his cronies is reading this, please be kind. $3.14 may be chicken shit to you but it means much to others! I hope you can hear the people sing. [Link]

Looking back, it was this CPF "unreasonableness" and the contemptible character of Ng Eng Hen  *[Link] in 2007 that got me started in blogging. Time flies!

feedmetothefish

UPDATE:
# If CPF Board is operating like bank or credit cards companies to maximise its profits, just who is benefiting from it?  Below extracted from Health Promotion Board [Link]
Q22.Will I have to pay a fee for using Medisave for my treatments under the Chronic Disease Management Programme?
Ans: You may be charged a fee for the processing of each Medisave transaction by the CPF Board. As with all billing, credit card or banking transactions, it costs money to process each Medisave transaction. This fee is levied on all institutions, which may choose to absorb them as part of their running costs. If they are charged to patients, CPF Board requires that it be itemised clearly in the bill. This processing fee has to be paid in cash and is not deductible from Medisave. For more information, please check with your clinic.

* For the benefit of non-soccer fans, the last para of [Link],"My problems may have been less if the returns in my CPF had been on par or better than Malaysia’s EPF. Maybe part of the interest that could have been mine has ended up in the purchase of Manchester City Football Club. Am I a co-owner now?" please note that Temasek Holdings lost much in ShinCorp and this was followed by then Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra buying Manchester City Football Club.

Corruption? What's That?

The MHA has stated that Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Peter Lim Sin Pang, and Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau, Ng Boon Gay, have been relieved of their positions and were being probed by the CPIB over “allegations of serious personal misconduct” though a Chinese daily has reported it as a case of "money and women" or "greed and sex".

Just what is corruption in Singapore?

• Is it succumbing to an uncontrollable greedy itch caused by the perceived lack of remuneration that one must scratch to line the pockets with more illicit money? 
• Is it surrendering to an uncontrollable libido caused by excess of power that needs to be satisfied by unlawful sex?
• Is it accepting 'special' discount given to one and his familee members by luxury condo seller? [Link]
• Is it accepting an additional egg given by char kway teow hawker because one is a poleetician of regal position? Or
• Is it merely a case of "personal misconduct"?

It can be one, none, some or all of the above. As mentioned by DPM Teo Chee Hean in the ministerial salary debate, it may just be a "judgement call". But who makes the call? When to make the call and when to announce the call?

If the Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau lost their lucrative jobs because of mere "allegations", they deserve my sympathies. Not unlike the sympathies I have for the "Marxists Conspirators" like Vincent Cheng and Teo So Lung and other political detainees like Chia Thye Poh, Lim Hock Siew, Said Zahari and others for being "not agreeable" and victims of ISA. However, if Peter Lim Sin Pang and Ng Boon Gay are investigated and found to be guilty by a court of law to be guilty of "alleged personal misconduct" (whatever that is), then both Peter Lim Sin Pang and Ng Boon Gay deserve their just deserts!

In view of the recent Parliamentary debate of the Ministerial Salary Review, I am less than hopeful of knowing the reasons why the Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau were relieved of their positions. In replying to why the exact figures of ministers salary should not be revealed, the DPM & Minister of Home Affairs said that he is all for transparency but he could not be too transparent as he has to respect the privacy of individuals. In other words, transparency sounds good but privacy of ministers must be protected at all cost because of the cost! 

With that, what will come out of the investigation is anybody's guess. The respect for ex-Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Director of the Central Narcotics Bureau's privacy may override the transparency that we hope to see.

Till then, we can only guess the color of white. I doubt it can be any 'whiter' or 'shadier' than the absence and delay of this "Breaking News"! Why this "Breaking News" did not break during or before the Ministerial Salary Debate is telling!

feedmetothefish 

Could A Public Figure Figured It Wrong?

Poor Sod. The decision by his boss to appoint Gerard Ee to do a "Capable and Committed Ministers' Salary Review may not be something he figured when he quit the Energy Market Authority to become a politician. Pay Cut!

I thought I had my last words on the "Capable and Committed Ministers" Salary Review and am looking forward to welcome the Dragon Year with a sense of joy, peace and gratitude for another 'bonus' year lived - without major hiccups to my health.

However after reading of Straits Times' report for 2 consecutive days, "PAP: Further shift in Workers' Party's stance" [Link] on Lawrence Wong's unhappiness and refusal to accept closure on the subject after the parliamentary debate, I thought I would share some to end the year.

The parliamentary debate is over and I would thought that politicians especially ministers would start working for their money and stop arguing and lamenting their financial losses and self-perceived sacrifices. What's worse and more deplorable is trying to "play politics" and get more "political mileage" out of it, as condemned by none other than Teo Chee Hean.

After reading about this young "public figure" [Link], I perceive that some people may believe that they are god's gifts to mankind. They are the "chosen ones" and they deserve better. They should not deserve a pay cut!

On this last day of the lunar year of the rabbit, I offer my condolences to PAP ministers and MPs for their loss. I'm sorry for your loss. As some of you may go through the 5-stages of grief namely, denial; anger; bargaining; depression and acceptance. I do hope that you'll reach the 5th stage of 'acceptance' very soon.

Remember, you still have a job to do. To build and inclusive society with your heart and make a better life for all Singaporeans. However, if you think that it is a thankless job, I humbly suggest that you plan your exit by volunteering to be selected as PAP candidates in Aljunied GRC in the next election. Meanwhile, just grin and bear.

I'd like to dedicate Eagles's "Get Over It" [Link] to help some of you overcome your sorrow.

For whatever that's thrown at us

We can choose to be bitter

Or choose to be better

Better is the only option

I choose to be better by not moaning and bitching about the "Capable and Committed Ministers' Salary" anymore. Not till the next review and I hope Lawrence will do the same ;)

Last words:

PM Lee must be congratulated for having kicked the ball to Gerrard Ee and can now have the "moral" high ground to say that the fat pay came from "Review Committee" and not from him as in 2007!

Happy Chinese New Year & Happy Holidays!

feedmetothefish

PAP's Debacle - An Exercise In Fooltility.

If they are not going to let it rest, they will embarrass and hurt themselves further.

The Ministerial Salary Review followed by Parliamentary Debate recently is a debacle for PAP. It shows that PAP members, especially the newer ones, did not do much except to "make an appearance" to be seen and heard. Most of them, not all, tried to defend the indefensible; to say what is expected to be said; to defend one's boss and party for self-preservation!

In saying that it is a privilege rather than a sacrifice to serve the people of Singapore, regardless of the salary, Workers' Party's Chen Show Mao hammered home the excesses, arrogance, callousness and hubris of PAP. In highlighting the stupidity of "inflating a minister's salary, then giving it a discount of 40%" to show the artificial "graciousness" and "sacrifice" of PAP Ministers, Chen Show Mao has put PAP to shame; to silence! It is dense, damn stupid, of PAP MPs and Ministers to not (or try not to) understand where Chen Show Mao is coming from.

The nitpicking and bullying of less experienced by PAP is not putting PAP in a good light. However, Gerald's and Jenn Jong's baptism of fire has put them in a good stead with their sincerity and honesty and respect for the house. Pritam was unshakeable and was able to paint himself out of a corner even the mean DPM (watch his face in the video [Link]) and Puthucheary tried to corner Pritam simultaneously [Link] shows that there is hope yet for a 1st World Parliament in the country I was born in and too poor to get away from.

However shamed and silenced, PAP had to make some noise to salvage some respectability. In so doing, we see PAP MPs like Puthu [Link] and Vikram going through the motion in parliament to justify their annual allowance of $192,500. For the effort that Gerald Giam puts in, though he's a NMP (NCMP?), please note that Gerald Giam is only paid a $28,900 annual allowance. Compared this to the 'sacrificial belly aching' of BG Tan Chuan-Jin [Link], you'll be stumped!

With all that has happened so far, PM Lee may be regretting the futility of it all. In one fell swoop, he reduced members of his cabinet members to "poorer millionaires". Worser (thanks to what I have learned from Lim Swee Say), he has made them "lose face" especially MsGraceFU and BG Tan Chuan-Jin.

We now have Lawrence Wong, PAP Publicity and Publications Sub-Committee Chairman, calling on Workers' Party to explain to the public its change of stance on ministerial salary [ST 21 January 2012]. Pardon my language but I can't resist my alcohol spirited retort. "Yo, what about the fooking change of stance of PAP? You Pappy fookers paid yourselves millions (plus added obscene pensions to boot) since 2007, after increasing GST, to hurt the poorest of the poor. After saying sorry and all that shit, why the fook did you change your stance, after 2011 Election, to ask Gerrard Ee and Co. to come up with a Salary Review with fookin' restrictive terms of reference?. Bro, never throw stones whilst living in a glass house! You on grass, Ecstacy or what?"

Now having got it off my chest, I must say if Loong is not going to reign in his barking/lapping dogs like Lawrence, he is going to pay and pay (PAP) big time! Singaporeans are fooking sick and tired of the deprecating and patronizing attitude of the Pappy leeders and their cronies.

Baby, we are 'daft' no more! We are sick and tired, very very sick and tired of the game you are playing on us. A good example is the bleeding belly-aching of your fookin' sacrifice [Link]. It has reached the point of causing nausea and ulcerative colitis to many Singaporeans!

If PAP is not going to resist and desist in its hypocrisy, its bullying and "cho hee" [wayanging/play acting], the Chinese saying of: "A fortune will not last 3 generations" will come to pass. In PAP, we had Lee Kuan Yew, we had Goh Chok Tong, we now have Lee Hsien Loong - Father, Son and Holey Goh? Sooner or later, 2016 or after, the Lee Marble Dynasty [LeeGohLee Dynasty], like all dynasties, will disintegrate.

Meanwhile, for the benefit of Lawrence and his ilk, may I humbly suggest that an exercise in futility is a fools' work. Like the Review of Capable and Competent Ministers' Salary that has come to naught, we now know that ministers are losers for having earned less than previously and commoners are losers for having learnt that there is no minimum wage for themselves but a maximum wage for PAP ministers!

Instead of scoring points to please ourselves and our boss, would it be more fulfilling to do what is right, what is honest, what is truth, what is pure, what is charitable to one and all, especially our fellow citizens?

I don't know.

But we can try in the year of the dragon!

But will the hubristic PAP try?

Your guess is as good as mine.

May the Dragon of the Year Love And Take Good Care Of You!

feedmetothefish

The Mother of All Sacrifices?

Seriously, I think most MPs and ministers of PAP are making a sacrilege of the word "sacrifice"! The latest came from a Brigadier-General. It's profane! It's sad to see the word "sacrifice" so badly hacked and desecrated.

When Minister of State Tan Chuan-Jin, choking over his words said: "I'm pained by the knowledge that I'll miss the many moments when my children are growing up and time with my family. My parents are not getting any younger. Those moments missed do not return. Ever... In time I will look back and there will be gaps. But that's life. I'm not sure how one considers it a privilege to miss these precious moments. It trivialises all of us who do cherish these." [Link].

So bloody sad! Blind me! For a moment, I thought he was describing the job of the Security Guard who works 12-hour shift followed by another 6 hours washing dirty dishes at the hawker centre just to make ends meet. Or was he talking about the sacrifices made by foreign domestic helpers who come to work in this 'red dot soon to be a black spot'? No, my dear readers. He was lamenting the job he's holding!

To be paid millions and have the privilege to serve and to come up with a rhetoric like, I repeat,

"I'm pained by the knowledge that I'll miss the many moments when my children are growing up and time with my family. My parents are not getting any younger. Those moments missed do not return. Ever... In time I will look back and there will be gaps. But that's life. I'm not sure how one considers it a privilege to miss these precious moments. It trivialises all of us who do cherish these." almost takes my breath away.

Such rhetoric does trivialise real work done by real people. Get real, man! Worse, it denigrates all hardworking men and women who work long hours, missing their children and neglecting their aged parents, just to put food on the table, pay the bills and put their kids in school. Do these poor souls consider it a "sacrifice"? I doubt so. They are merely doing what needs to be done to survive without an inkling of what high-falutin' sacrifice is about!

It is often said that PAP ministers sit in their ivory towers unacquainted with the harsh realities of commoners. It is sad to know that newly minted Minister of State is also ignorant of commoners' daily struggles. Or has this "callous sickness" affected top elites and honchos in the Armed Forces too?

I'm at a loss for words to describe the hubris and audacity of the Brigadier-General. Some English vulgarities come to mind but I shall desist using them. However, a Hokkien "KNNBCCB" and/or a Mandarin "Neow nee ma de chee pee" (I learned from a Nanyang graduate while serving NS in 1969) does help to lift the pain off my chest.

I just don't get it. Why the PAPies keep harping about their sacrifices is really beyond me. They are, even after the salary cut, still the highest paid in the world. Yet, they are still belly-aching that their sacrifices are not recognized. To bitch that he misses his mama, papa, wife and kids while he works to earn his millions is no better than Wee Shu Min, daughter of ex PAP parliament member Wee Siew Kim saying, 'Get off my elitist uncaring face"!

Denise Phua, one of the more decent PAP MPs whom I respect for her guts and candour, did a Drama Mama with a glass half filled with water. She was driving the point on "perception" and I caught her drift. I'm at a loss at just what Brigadier-General Drama was trying to prove with his Thank You Card. That we should appreciate his "SACRIFICE" by sending him more cards? Thanks but no thanks. Self praise leads to much disgrace. No?

Lee Hsien Loong and his team decided in 2007 to pay PAP ministers millions. In so doing, they made a mockery of National Service and Reservists' Training. They killed the sense of service and loyalty to one's country. It left a bitter taste in the mouths of millions of $ingaporeans. In trying to mitigate the "Mother Of All Excesses", he directed Gerard Ee (was it Gerrard's privilege or sacrifice & was he paid?) to do a review.

Wise after te Event:

I, like everyone else, have a 20/20 vision after the event. So does WP when they improved on Gerrard's recommendation. Likewise, PAP's sight was on the target trying its best to humiliate WP for its genius.

My observation:

1. The Review hurts PAP bad. Very bad. Having reduced his and his "kah kia's" salary, Lee Hsien Loong must be very 'hsien'. He should have let the old salary ride and not try to be a "popular" politician. PAP has prided itself in not succumbing to the popularity poll for decades and now PM Lee has gone against the grain. Instead of healing the nation and make people understand (so as to have more dragon babies, pun intended), he has wreaked havoc. Throughout the 3-day debate, after Chen Show Mao's speech, PAP was on the defensive. The silly attacks they made on WP especially on Gerald, Pritam and Jenn Jong shows the bully that PAP is. Instead of scoring brownie points, PAP has scored its own goals.
   
   
2. Workers' Party is no longer OMO (one man operation) and PAP knows it is a Party to be reckoned with. WP has shown through Chen Show Mao, Pritam Singh and others that PAP does not have the exclusive hold of political talents and leaders of Singapore. It proves that talents with passion and willingness to serve Singapore need not be bought with million dollars salary. In fact, many more may be willing to serve without being affiliated to or tainted by PAP. The cross may be too hard to carry as shown by George, Hwee Hwa and Zainal Abidin.
   
   
3. 1st World Parliament: The performance of the PAP Ministers and PMs left much to be desired. The jibes and insinuations on the opposition's "insincerity" and making "political mileage" out of the debate shows the quality (or lack of) of PAP members. After decades of watching the bullying tactics against gentlemen like JB Jeyaratnam and Chiam See Tong by PAP, it's neat to note that such tactics do not work anymore. It brings shame and disrespect to PAP. It's tiring to see such stupidity at work and hopefully we'll see less.
   
   
4. Lee Kuan Yew had to write a letter to msm, "Don't underpay our ministers" [Link] to defend the high salary. His son, the Sec-Gen of PAP spoke. DPM Teo Chee Hean spoke. So did other top guns from PAP. So far, not a word from the Sec-Gen Low Thia Kiang and Chairman Sylvia Lim of Workers' Party. It is enlightening to note that the top 2 in WP need not involved themselves in this debate while PAP needed all the support fire, including that of ex-MM Lee, to flog a dead horse. Does it tell you that "A rose by any name smells as good"? OR , a greedy self serving deed, no matter how revised, stinks to high heaven?
   
   
5. My most striking observation is the fact that PAP members do not see (or purposely refuse to see) Chen Show Mao's distinct differences from Gerard Ee's recommendation:
   
   WP recommends a base pay instead of artificially bringing it up and giving a 40% DISCOUNT. Thus not having a charade of putting up ministers on a pedestal and showing their sacrifice and graciousness of accepting a pay cut. Worse than hubristic stupidity, it is a 'mootherfooking disgrace' to upsize the pay, then give a 40% Discount to make the ministers look good!
   
   As much as Loong said that he never mentioned pay when he recruited his "kah kia's", his subordinates may be in pain. If not, words from MsGraceFu and BG Tan Chuan-Jin on (pardon my expression) his childrenless. wifeless and parentless sacrifice would not have seen the light of day.
   
   When a DPM can say something like, "We need transparency but we must respect the privacy of individuals" Singaporeans know we are pwned!
   
   
6. However, let's take the glass from Denise Phua and see it as half-full instead of half-empty. With PAP's continuing "don't get it" or "refuse to get it", we know they will pay dearly for it in the next election. Hopefully, in 2016, we'll have more leaders and less Sacrificers!
   
   
7. Worrisome thought: Now that the deed is done - ministers' pay cut - will my mother, wife, sister, daughter and grand daughter end up working as maids in foreign countries sacrificing like Brigadier General Tan Chuan-Jin does without the million dollars salary? Heaven forbids.

Yeah, I'm sitting here typing away on my keyboard, tickling my brain to come up with something good, neglecting members of my family, writing this blog without a single cent in financial reward . . . So is it my Sacrifice or Privilege? Neither.

Therapeutic, may be.

feedmetothefish

Note:

"KNNBCCB" = Go check with any Hokkien Peng for this vulgarity.

"Neow, Neow, Neow nee ma de chee pee" was the favourite phrase used by my NCO colleague (Nanyang University grad) when we did NS in '69 . He loved to used it on arrogant recruits who talked cock and complained often. The words in Mandarin means something like "disturb/complain/tickle, mother, female genital skin". It sounded classier and more refined than the ubiquitous and harsh "KNNBCCB" .