We live, we learn.

It's fascinating to know that the elites of ministerial level are learning from 88-year-old Mdm Lim.

Mdm Lim who is paid $330 in public assistance said in Hainanese, "It's no glory taking this government money" reported Straits Times. Within days, our dear PAP government announced that it's no glory taking money from hapless poor Singapore too.

They decided on a pay cut (or is it?) and left Mr Tharman grandstanding after he said "We are not here to grandstand" when asked by reporter if ministers would take a pay cut. Poor guy. Having done a fantastic job (said my teacher friends) as Minister of Education, he now has to pay for the sins of his predecessor in the Finance Ministry due to the Minibombs fiasco.

As hard as they try to portray their altruistic selves sharing the misery of the masses, there is and never will be equal misery for all. Just compare Mdm Lim's public assistance of $330 a month with PM Lee Hsien Loong's income of $3,040,000 per annum or $253,333 a month (after pay cut?).

I know I'm not comparing apple with apple but I like what our first Chief Minister, Mr David Marshall said in an interview with Dharmendra Yadev way back on 5 May 1994, "You know $96,000 a month for a Prime Minister and $60,000 a month for a minister. What the hell do you do with all that money? You can’t eat it! What do you do with it? Your children don’t need all that money."

What the heck! If 14 years ago, you could not eat $96,000 a month, how the hell do you swallow $253,333 a month today? It's crazy! So just what the hell do you do with all that money anyway? Maybe get Japanese chefs to prepare meals of sushi and sashimi for a GRC every week?

This idea of "reserves" is getting a little over the top. The country wants humongous reserves so that they can blow them away in UBS, Citi, ABC Learning, etc. The ministers wants so much reserves for themselves that they shamelessly depend on scholarships to pay for their children's education. Yes, I know it's the prestige, but heck, is prestige more important than giving the smart poor a break? Meritocracy . . . my foot! It's Greed!

Greatgrandma of my grand daughter said you can't bring it with you when you croak. If that's the case, the huge legacy that they leave behind will not last past the 3rd generation as told in Asian (Chinese?) folktales. I'm not into folktales and superstitions but sometimes, uncanny things do happen. Could this recession be the beginning of the slippery slope of the 3rd generation's crash and burn?

Just look at the Singapore's reserves (Singaporeans' money). It started during LKY's time and grew during GCT's watch. Now 3rd generation Prime Minister LHL is losing Singapore's pants by the billions with outvestments like Shincorp, Merill Lynch, Citigroup, UBS, ABC Learning and even Town Councils' Sinking Fund. At the rate that it's going, people are anxious of their future and frustrated with the present. Some find jumping into the jaws of white tigers and oncoming MRT train a better alternative.

Maybe Economic Euthanasia should be passed in Parliament before Medical Euthanasia.

I lived rather happily during the 60's, 70's and part of 80's. Though the country wasn't rich, we managed to stay together and moved ahead, albeit slowly but steadily in making a living and building relationship with care and respect for each other. There wasn't any notion of emigration. It was a Singapore worth loving and worth serving.

It's different now. The silly "staying together and moving ahead" today is nothing more than a slogan, a hype to pull wool over people's eyes. Most who can afford and qualify will 'run road' and 'quit' like the daughter of GCT.

The loss of love and service to this country began when leaders started planting seeds for greed building instead of seed for nation building. As much as money and economy is important for survival, the culture created thus far in Singapore is without money, power & status or you are zilch. Nothing!

Joke has it that PAP gives you a drumstick but will take back a whole chicken from you. With what's been happening lately, it's more like they stole your whole chicken farm [raising the cost of living in every and any way possible while paying themselves million dollars salary] and feed you chicken feet and neck when you complain or beg for sustenance to survive [Mdm Lim's public assistance of $330].

With the country going to the dogs, if not for the ability to treat them with nonchalance, contempt and disdain, most would have gone crazy with a sense of despair and betrayal.

If much has been bragged of what Singapore has achieved, why am I sometimes ashamed of being a Singaporean? Having glorified itself as 1st World and always running down other Asian countries like Taiwan and our neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, it may now be "pay back time". I simply do not understand why they have to insult Taiwan's parliament when they propagandize "one party system" in Singapore. Making fun of the high crime rate, democratic demonstration and leadership of our Asean neighbours is also something beyond me. Does belittling others give one an orgasm?

It's such a shame that our dear leaders are too dumb to know that it isn't necessary to blow out someone else's candles to make yours burn brighter!

As there's not much I can do except rant, my learned guru has taught me to remain hopelessly happy.

Hopelessly Happy I am and shall be.

feedmetothefish