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Friday, February 22, 2013

The Poor Will Rule Again

Fighting back is not about physique nor money ...


Working hard to achieve something
Looking for business to crystalize
Making money out of a deal
It all looks easy

The rich will not spare a dime for the poor
The elite will not lift a hand to help the downtrodden
The ruler will benefits his own men and cronies
The powerful, famous and wealthy will ringfence their positions

It is getting harder to make ends meet

I enjoy helping the less well-off, the underprivilege and the needy
Not that I have a flair for this but I cannot see them being 'bullied into submission'
With an ever increasingly materialistic world where everything is measured in terms of money, we have passed the point where 'decent living and dignity' can be had for a penny
I have long given up on fairness, justice and equality ... everything being equal, I'd like to have the upper half

The cries for help and assistances are dismissed as noises
The bare increments of wages for the lower (& lowest) strata must come with productivity
The need for welfare assistances and needy families are scorned
What has Society became with the Gini-Coefficient widening at every counts

The world evolves and revolves

It's either the pyramid shortens and lightens lives
Or when the top collapses, things will look more equal again

Some day, the poor will rule again



Empty Journeys

Walking towards a corner, cornered and no exit ; U-Turn is the only option ...

How do you measure achievements and success? Is the monk or pope any more successful than the ordinary man or the wealthy tycoons? I don't know
From young to old, everyone is comparing as to how much one has achieved or attained

To the vagabond, the beggar, the down-&-almost-luckless lad, getting the next meal and warmth is an achievement
To the wealthy tycoon, making afew dollars more is not going to make his day
To the average Joes & Janes, making enough to feed the family and to provide decent, basic needs is the ultimatum


I have seen all


Achieving too much at too short a time may not necessarily be good
When your cohorts are not your competitors, you have to fight it out in a higher realm, the unknown, the untested; a realm that may not be what you want or look forward

You have arrived but at a different place

It's all about recognition; achieving something without recognition is hollow
I have come a long way, into the corner; a corner without exit
I have to make an U-Turn - with many lost journeys and efforts
Who is there to empathise with me? It's a tale of no return

I have, and will, walk backwards towards civilisation and recognition

There are many innocently spent journeys helping the world but no one will ever understand a lonely journey


Thursday, February 21, 2013

My Country - Divided

From the land in the Southernmost tip of the Peninsula, an island remained but the fortunes changed...


We were not just a fishing village; we were a trading port
Our deep sea harbour was, and still is a cutting-edge advantage, sheltered by our huge neighbouring islands from the rough seas and seated neatly outside the volcanic straits
We shine like the lighthouse mothering to all ships calling ashore

The traders, the Sultans, the Temengongs, the Colonialists and locals were happily greasing commerce; sugar, rubber, silk, spice & everything nice
Living by the seas also mean abundance of seafood; the sun, the sea and the trades
Music soothes the souls and life was a breeze

When there is money, there is envy

Temasek, the island
Was traded; bought & sold
Singapore was a buzzling city, an entrepot; a no-man's island
From the Sultan to the British to the Japanese - this island is but a resort; a trading post at best
It was a bastion for Chinese immigrants living in harmony with the Bumiputras & All/Others who decided to stay and make it home; gaining independence was incidental

David Marshall, Lee Kuan Yew & Lim Chin Siong tried to built a Nation out of this island
Each has his own ideals but Fate wouldn't allow congruence of thoughts

Up to the 1990s, when it was a fairly homogenous "Guo Jia国家". With "Guo国“/country, then we have "Jia家"/home!

My country is divided:
'The Haves', "The Have-Nots' & those who thought 'They Haves'
'The Scholars', 'The Business People', 'The Ruling Elites', The Heartlanders', 'The New Arrivals' ... not forgetting "The Displaced'

For every Ten persons, only Three are true-blue Singaporeans today
Aristocracy impinge Meritocracy
Meritocracy is made easier and less robust as fame, money & power grease the flows

Guess, there is nothing wrong but part of social evolution; but at what price? 

The rich cannot live in a sea of poor
The screaming calls for attention to social demands and deficits were met with indifference
The push to dilute Singaporeans as a Nationality is in full gear & unabated
Nobody is against foreigners or immigrants but if we are not prepared nor ready, it can only sink the sunny island ... sinking the Soul called "Singaporean"

But, like all things, someday, somehow, somewhere, someone will save the island

And make it good again ...


Stock Up Your Energy - Live Abundantly

 Nothing lasts forever; don't push your luck too far... When you: Betray your partners and friends to get ahead Quietly retain mutually ...