If Only

If only there was a Singaporean writer willing to write about the Foreign labour in this country like this guy:

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=110429&d=31&m=5&y=2008&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion

Threat of the Migrant Worker Tariq A. Al-Maeena, talmaeena@aol.com

After reading enough in the local press about the threat to and the ill-effects on our society from the presence of a large number of migrant and semi-skilled workers in this country, I have to ask this question: Can we really get by without their presence? Before I answer this question myself, let me list some of the activities these workers are currently engaged in. Starting off with our municipal workers, it is not hard to notice the large number of expatriate workers industriously engaged in keeping our roads and cities clean, and our trash carted away. As our cities strain from a growing population, so does the amount of litter and garbage that has to be catered to, and it is being judiciously done by the migrant workers. Our booming construction has placed a high demand on the number of workers required — some to carry cement sacks, others to shovel and dig, and still some more to prepare the ground for the foundations the structures would rise from. Also perched precariously high on the scaffolds of some tall buildings, these workers daily put their lives at risk. For them, there is no safety net of a comprehensive medical insurance, and working conditions often hover above 100 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. Again this task is primarily being performed by the migrant worker. Our streets and roads are being dug out for the umpteenth time for laying out a sewage network. Guess who is primarily involved in the actual digging and setting of the massive pipes for these projects? It certainly isn’t any Saudi that I know of. Trees get pruned and grass in public parks mowed and watered diligently by the migrant worker. The waste from our septic tanks is flushed out and carted off by tankers by operators primarily from African countries. And owing to the highly inefficient water distribution network, potable water to our homes is being delivered by tankers driven by Asians. When we have to get around and use taxis or limousines, we are usually carted around by expatriate drivers. And when our personal vehicles need to be serviced or repaired, they are generally accomplished by expatriates. As we shop for our groceries it is the Asian who bags our purchases and delivers them to our cars. And around the house, if there is a need for plumbing or electrical work, guess who is available to do the job and without much fuss? Want to install curtains or re-upholster your furniture? There are plenty of expatriates who will do the work quickly and effectively. Our factories and other industries employ a large number of migrant workers, often resigned to pitiful living and working conditions and very low wages, but yet the job gets done without complaint. In some cases, their circumstances are an affront to the human rights defined in our religion. The list can go on and on, but the point is clear. Most of these tasks are being undertaken by migrant workers because Saudis will not do them. These workers are not taking jobs away from Saudis; instead they are performing a service essential to all of us and in most cases they are doing them well. And so to the growing legion of Saudi writers and commentators who are quick to point our ills at the direction of this group of workers I ask: Where would we be without them? Let us not delude ourselves into believing that Saudis today would readily fill in these posts and professions. One would not stumble upon a sizable number of Saudis queuing for such professions held by these expatriate workers. Instead of criticizing their presence, let us appreciate their contributions. Many leave homes and families behind to eke out a meager existence and save a little every month to send home. Many are subjected to deplorable living conditions, their rights violated in every form and yet they remain faithful to the task and perform it uninterrupted and without protest. They stick to themselves, rarely intrusive and more often abused. And if there are a few miscreants among them who get into criminal activities, are not some Saudis guilty of the same? To target an entire group or nationality for the misdeeds of a few among them is a gross defilement. Should we instead not get off our high pedestals and recognize that they really are of no threat in any form to our society? The real threat lies in the lazy and sluggish attitude exhibited by some of our Saudi work force whose expectations of salary and benefits far exceed their abilities. Let me put a rest to all who call for action against the migrant workers. They are not pariahs or rejects, but the silent and rarely acknowledged stalwarts that oil the machinery that helps run the rest of us. Let us show some gratitude for a change.

Give me 10 mins and I'll just waste it ranting

I'm at an internet cafe checking out my life in cyberspace and so I thought I would drop a posting here to try and lighten the load of the bored and oppressed on this planet. Life this week has been quiet. Slow and quiet but instead of spending it in bed, I'm surfing, surfing and surfing on the net. Like most mindless cretins I've decided that having a purpose is overrated.

But if it's been fairly quiet on the personal front, it's been a bit more interesting in the wider world of global politics. In Singapore, the court case between the Father and Son against Dr Chee Soon Juan seems to be reaching a conclusion. Dr Chee and his sister, are revelling in their role as favourite punch bags of the government and I don't think anyone doubts the verdict - the Father and the Son will be awarded enough damages to fund the government for a year and the already bankrupt Dr Chee will be unable to pay...

This business of suing has been a comon tactic of the powers that be. Yes, sometimes the buggers need to defend their reputations but they've really used this on so many occasions, that every law suit they launch and win in Singapore only serves to make them look like mafia dons. In fact, it's reached a stage where, if you are a publication or a writer, it's become a stepping stone to fame and establishing your credibility.

However, it's hard to feel sorry for Dr Chee. Yes, the powers that be are bullying him. Talk to the man in the street, and they applaud him for being a "brave" man (but they'll never vote for him). But is he serious about being an opposition or is he in desparate for attention from I don't know who. It's as if coverage from the foreign media becomes more important for him than finding alternative ways to achieve his cause's objectives, which if you look at them are not bad.

Singaporeans are simply not the "Activist" kind. We don't applaud student demonstrators the way they would in Europe or even around the region. Life is exceedingly comfortable, and as the whole, the government has done a good job in delivering. As such, whenever a "trouble maker" starts asking questions and gets slapped down, most of us just think "Ai Ya, why rock the boat."

I believe that as good as things may seem, the boat does need to be rocked from time to time. Its the best way of ensuring that a culture of complacency does not set in, as was plainly clear during the Mas Selamat incident - a case where the government and public spent most of the time playing tai-chi instead of catching the bugger. A few private sector practices need to be injected into the government sector. I'm all for Jack Welsh, former CEO of GE who made it a point to sack the bottom 10 percent of his management every year.

However, anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that this won't happen. The status quo is too comfortable for all parties involved. It has to change. We already have signs of developing socio-economic cracks appearing - just look at how inflation is eating into economic growth and how "some" groups seem to be inflation proof. So something's got to give sooner or later. But at the end of the day, we're going back to the same solutions - an "All Wise" government is telling the drones what to do and anyone who may have an alternative idea gets killed off. As one young PAP wanna be says, "You have economic growth or political freedome?" (erm....so we have more of the same old solutions?)

So, knowing change is necessary, how does one go about achieving it? The answer is simple to talk about but difficult to do - sell it to the public. Ultimately governments of all sorts are beholden to the will of the public. The decision makers have to "feel" your issue if they are to make your issues become reality. Look at the Bush Administration. It's stuffed with Homophobic Fags (no contradiction here - gay bashers are usually confused gays who don't the balls to open about their sexuality) who need to brandish their "Moral" authority. Yet , they've avoided producing homophobic leglislation. Individual States are even giving licenses for gay marriages. Why is that? Well, one of the most powerful figures in the administration is the father of a Lesbian who is not just Lesbian but proud of it. Suddenly you have Dick thinking like a father and not a Vice-President.

Likewise in Singapore, you have to make people think as human beings if you want your issues turned into reality. Nobody cares if you get beaten up by the establishment. But the establishment will start to care if you can make them understand that it could be their kids getting beaten up. I remember telling M Ravi, Dr Chee's egotistical lawyer that if he wanted to crusade against the death penalty he had to make the Ministers and public understand what it would be like if their kids were caught making "silly mistakes" (as is the case of quite a few drug cases). He seemed to agree but once his press conference began he decided to indulge in his role of victim of the establishment. It was "sexy" stuff for the visiting White Liberals in the audience......it was utter crap for listening Singaporeans.

Incidentally, I have nothing against White Liberals. Many of them mean well but a good majority of them are jacking off on the suffering of everyone else. Too few of them are interested in offering solutions and too many of them are interested in their media coverage.

But there you have it. In Singapore, our most vocal activist, Dr Chee is a darling of the White Liberal crowd. Todate, he's achieved........nothing for the people he claims to care about. I look at the way the Tibetan issue gets covered. White Liberals rush to condem the Chinese. The Chinese side plays the nationalist card. In-between all of this, nobody is terribly interested in speaking to the Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama. As a friend of mine once said, "Be weary when the white man takes up your cause."

Searching

It's all quiet on the home and business front. All too quiet, which cannot be a good sign on how things may be turning out on the economic front but when you consider that I was out drinking late last night, it was probably a darn good thing for me to take a break from life, today. But then again, I can't really complain.

It was good Indian food at a friend's 60th birthday party and then a late but enjoyable night at the Ministry of Sound as a guest of Spain's Tourism Authority. I love Europeans, you can always trust them to do the decent thing and provide booze....and needless to say there were a few sufficiently scantily clad chicks around to please the eye. As in all ironies, I ended up finding the most civilised woman at the event to be Spanish - we ended mixing communications in my pidgeon Spanish, her pidgeon Mandarin, our somewhat decent German and English. This is Singapore, it's good to be somewhat multilingual. The finale to this came from a Finnish guy who started telling everyone I could speak Finnish. Seriously, I don't speak Finnish. It's probably the most unique language in Europe, in many ways closer to Japanese than Sweedish or the Nordic Languages. So, I guess when I Finn tells you that you've pronounced a few words in his language correctly, it's a compliment. Mind you, Singapore is funny. I've had a few Italians compliment me on my beautiful Italian accent and I don't even speak the language (but then again Georgio sounds better than the Singlish Chor Chi O).

I digress. Last week was surprisingly good in terms of networking. Met a few people at the Irish Embassy and there was this week's AdAsia Pub Night, where I ended up talking to a surprisingly attractive (or at least I was finding her such) SPG (Thanks to Adelene, I realise that Asian women who bitch about Asian women lacking self-respect and throwing themselves at ANY white man are usually the biggest SPG's of the lot). But free-booze events aside, life on the business front is seemingly bland, particularly now that the main press has done as instructed by the government and "Moved On" from the Mas Selamat affair (As presumeably has Mas Selamat, whom Ministry of Home Affairs still insist is in Singapore).

The happy news in Singapore is the fact that the International Court of Justice has just awarded us soverignty of the Pedera Braca, an atol with a lighthouse. Malaysia gets the Middle Rocks. Yea, we beat the Malaysians to a bunch of rocks with a lighthouse. However, they didn't go away empty handed, they got the Middle Rocks, which are a bunch of rocks in the sea. Of course, God may have a sense of humour and give them oil under that patch of rock but as a Singaporean, I believe there is only ONE god and he works in the Istana.

Jokes aside, there's more disturbing news. The Singapore economy has had a slower growth rate as compared to the year before. So, guess what - business is going to get a bit tougher all thanks to the lending of money of a bunch of yanks who can't keep control of their spending habits. I'm slowly but surely moving towards planning to increase cash holdings, not that I have alot of cash to hold in the first place.

Don't think people will start feeling the pinch imediately but there are rumours that people are feeling the pain of increased rentals, food supplies and transport cost. So, its probably best if I get my cash position built up fast and my income diversified away from the marketing communications industry, which is notorious for being the first thing to get cut whenever there's an economic downturn.

Thus far, things are ok. Alcon, 3M and Pet Lovers Centre keep the bills paid and there are government hand-outs. Tang-Asia Consultancy will also be opening up a bank acount once GE CF pay. So, I live. But then I'm now searching for more avenues to build cash, reduce cost and so on.

One of my interest in the past month is to look for barter trades. Thanks to Greg, I'll be getting my hair cuts, a major grooming expense, taken care of. Now, I have to see if there are other similar deals. Have looked at Barter Exchange and Ozone sites - but they'll require some cash up front, which I'm not in the position to pay out at the moment. But anyway, it will be good to pay off certain things without having to use cash.

I'm also fantasising about trying to sell things on eBay. Between my aunt and I, the house is cluttered with allot of stuff and I think we could do with getting rid of it and hopefully realising some cash out of it. The internet is an interesting place to try and do things. I'm searching for something that can make life interesting in the next coming months.

Insight into the way the world is moving

http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10215013.html

GCC can benefit from China By Francis Matthew, Editor at Large Published: May 22, 2008, 00:08 There will be a major shift in the world's power structure as China moves up to take its place as one of the world's two future superpowers over the next two to three decades. The change will not be very comfortable and will upset many conventional ideas that we all have at the moment. This change will be particularly important for the Gulf states, and will force them into new economic alliances, which in turn will bring new political interests. The recent World Economic Forum on the Middle East spent a lot of time looking at how this shift might happen and what its impact will be. The new economic network will probably include China as a manufacturing centre, India as a service centre, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states offering energy and capital and Africa bringing substantial territories of arable land. But these economic focuses are only part of the picture since all the regions in this emerging network will become more domestically prosperous in the next 20 years, and their people will demand more and higher quality services and goods. The largest force this new economic alliance will be China, which is the forth largest GDP in the world today, but is only the 106th if measured in GDP per capita. This means that even if it is very big today, it can only become a lot bigger as it makes its way up the chart. This will create a huge demand for energy, and along with Iran and Iraq, the GCC is well placed to provide the energy in projects that will dwarf the present day scale of operations. China's future demand will make the big volumes around the Iran-Pakistan-India, or even the Dolphin project, seem puny. Huge investments will be needed to let the future GCC supplies get to China, which will cement the future alliance, deepening it for both sides. The tremendous business opportunities in investing in China's march up the GDP per capita chart means that any large Gulf company with global businesses will not be able to avoid working in China over the next 20 years. Arabs will become familiar with China and its people, speaking one or more of its languages, and working there. USA politics This shift means that the sole reliance on the United States from a strategic point of view may have to change. It is not clear how China will use its new global political influence, but if it follows what it has been doing for the past two decades, it will be a relatively disinterested power. What is clear is that the proportion of the Gulf's economic links with the US will fall in relation to the rest of the world, as has already started. This has been made amply clear by the way that the economic downturn in the US has not devastated the Gulf or many other developing countries. The power of the new economies has allowed the world to ride out the American crisis in a way that would have unimaginable a few years ago. It is therefore possible that we are watching the high point of American power in the world. We certainly have an incumbent president who believes in using American power, and he has stretched it way beyond what his predecessors wanted, as he sidelined the United Nations and pursued his unilateral goals. In the future, the US may find the multi-polar world of the future too powerful to ignore, and will not be able to force the world to accept its views, for example on how democracy should be implanted by force. This is good news for the GCC as it will find itself able to build many new alliances and find a more open position in the world. While no GCC state welcomes the Bush view of the Middle East, most enjoy good relations with the United States and appreciate the values that the United States stand for. But this will not exclude the GCC looking for new major strategic partners in the world. India stands ready as a neighbour and two ministerial visits this month have made clear that it is already a willing and good friend. China is fast becoming the dominant force that will be there for centuries. And of course the GCC itself has yet to mature into a working regional body capable of taking its place as a single entity in the councils of the nations. But regardless of its failings today, the GCC and the Arab world is where the UAE is based and will find its closest and most vital alliances, as they all find their way forward into their multi-polar future.

Almost out of Penuary

Am now seemingly on the road to recovery after a very dry two weeks of having zero cash coming in. Not quite sure what it was but I think the idea of easy government money came and went in a flash on being debauched on things like steak at Botak Jones and women who were obviously not my wife and let's not forget the biggest killer of all - more inflated pricing. It seems that we have now reached a state in life where the system seems to conspire to make sure you never have enough money when you need it. People take their time to pay you but the bill collectors expect their payment to be on time.

But it wasn't all bad. There's nothing like being dry on cash to make your brain scramble for ways towards basic survival and it get's you out of that most recently notorious Singaporean phrase - "Complacency." Suddenly, I spent more time doing things like walking more (which is good for the minimal excercise I do) instead of taking public transport and eating less - in fact I took quite a few of my meals at home - so less chemicals and dare I say, less money spent on doing silly things like overeating. In short, this was back to basic survival mode.

It also made me a bit more creative with trying to drum up business. Favourite 938 Live producer was working on her own and had holes to fill, so I mananaged to get quite a bit of say in deciding air time. As well as getting the usual cast of doctors and 3M promoters, there was the chance to add in a few smes. No, didn't make much money - but helped to open doors. My application for my university transcripts will be paid for by the school that plans to hire me to do some lecturing and I now have my haircuts taken care of for a year. It's going to be quite a nice change to get my hair cuts in a salon next to the Saudi Embassy and Lee Kuan Yew's house instead of from the street barber for Indian Labourers that I'm used to visiting (hey it's not like I have loads of hair - but a pretty girl rubbing your scalp beats a sweaty labourer ) Anyway, got to look for more of these little things to keep me alive in the next coming months. If the global cash crunch gets worse, I need to get my survival stuff in place.

I'm in Labour, I had Writers Block and I don't know what the heck is going on

It's been quite a while since I lasted posted anything on this blog. I think it had to do with something about me being a recipient of the government's generosity and spending the better part of last week with too much to drink and a series of women who were obvoiusly not my ex-wife. Before you all shake your heads at my totally debauched and senseless lifestyle, I would beg you all to remember that I am not one of the intelligensia of this nation nor am I responsible for my actions. It was the fault of the government for placing me in a position where I had cash to spare and it was Mas Selamat's guards who made me do it. And if you assume that I have responsability for whom and how I spend my government given cash, I'll sue the daylights out of you for being totally complacent.

Anyway, enough of that. I've just decided that since the Mas Selamat Affair (65 days and he's still not found), I need to declare all my evil deeds and add a warning to all readers of this blog that I am not responsible for my actions. Everyone is complacent but I on the other hand am a total innocent and I'll sue, as all good Singaporeans of any stature are prone to do, anyone who thinks I'm responsible for the bad things that happen but refuse to give me credit for the good stuff that takes place.

Seriously, I've been in somewhat of a daze, unable to do simple task like read a book I've been trying to finish and I've found myself unable to write in complete sentences other than when I'm slagging off Americans who have described George W Bush as a man of principle (wrong on both counts - a lying fag is the direct contradiction of man of principle - but then they voted him in not once but twice - makes you wonder about Americans).

While I was being a total ponce who did nothing terribly productive in seven days (I spent the better part of Saturday sleeping), a few things happened in the world. Dr Amin Kurdi ended his Ambasadorship and went back to Saudi Arabia. I will miss him and when my mind focuses I shall write an appropriate tribute to man who was my patron in so many ways. Then it was labour day, when anyone who did any labour was supposed to get a rest and yes, in the UK, the British electorate (at least in the UK, the electorate pretends to use its brain at the ballot box) showed Labour the Middle Finger, including booting out the "Red" Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London. OK, I remember everyone at university was hot for the guy because he told Tony Blair to stick it (Blair not being very popular with students after he made them pay for university facilities) but somehow he didn't appeal to me. I think of Churchil who said that "When a man who is in his twenties is a conservative, he has no heart, but when a man who is in his forties is a socialist, he has no brain." - Red Ken was well past his forties and still a socialist of the Loony Left kind.

But anyway, here in Singapore we are a little bit different. In the rest of the world the young start out as idealist and become cynical money grubbers as they realise that you need money to survive and most people are shit heads especially when you're nice to them. In Singapore are young are conservative as they swallow PAP education and then they become more liberal and kinder about the rest of humanity as they get older - a case of realising that the people in white are not much better than the crowd at Geylang.

I think I've become more sympathetic towards my fellow man as I've gotten older. As a student I tried not to mix with "Working Class Riff - Raff" and always made it a point not to look like my fellow students. Even to this day, I'm quicker to identify my Citibank Internship as the main force in my life during that time than I am my student days. Of course, it does help that Carra was the lady in my life in those days.

But somehow as I got older, went through an abusive marriage and ran around town doing odd jobs just to survive, my perspective of life has changed. Now, I have more sympathy for migrants. I identify more closely with people like prostitutes and cigarett peddlers than I do with the Yuppies in Shenton way, particularly those who have graduated. There's actually not too much difference between the groups. The Yuppies pretend to have money, have no heart and live in an imaginary world where they have a sense of entitlement. Pimps, Prostitutes and Chinese hawkers with two O-levels to their name, actually have money and more importantly have a sense of values.

The elite or at least the elite that today's elite are grooming to be the elite will be the undoing of this nation. I remember reading about this young PAP chap called Nicholas Lazarus who made some remark about how fags should not be allowed in Singapore because they can't reproduce. To be fair to my fellow Singaporeans, he got blasted all over cyberspace.

But you can't blame Nicholas for being what he is - a repressed homosexual who does not have the balls to admit to being what he is (I'm working on the theory that those who make the most anti-gay remarks and go about doing harm to fags are actually fags themselves.) The poor boy has been brought up in a world where he's been told to believe certain things and anything that contravenes his views of the world is to be condemed. He's probably got about a gazillion degrees to his name and makes more money in a month than I do in the next ten years from sitting in some government office hopping they'll invent work for him. But at least I've never had to repress my sexuality to fit someone elses image of me.

I look back to my marriage as an example of how education will be the undoing of Singapore. My ex-wife and brother-in-law are graudates. They've become fundimentalist Christians, though Andrew is probably more sane than Gina. Gina followed the advice of Fred who is so so obsessed by his version of the Bible, he and his followers forgot what it was like to be Christian. People who become fundimentalist Christians of Fred's sort are in it for an easy fix. They're people who become dissatisfied with the earthly father, they chase their heavenly father over someone elses vision. Things that Christ stands for like sacrifice, humanity and soul searching are a little bit too difficult for them to comprehend.

Needless to say Yong Koon, the egg seller never went down that path. He had too much common sense. He understood that the almighty had awarded him good things in life because he worked hard and did good deeds rather than by enrichening a charlaton who wouldn't know the bible if it thumped him in his nads. Although the man left secondary school, he was curious enough about the world around him to learn things by trying things out, failing and then getting back on his feet again.

I think if I had kids with Gina, we'd have murdered each other sooner. She would probably have tollerated a kid growing up like some snot nosed piece of crap who once proclaimed to the world that they should "Get Out of my Elite, Uncaring Face." Really, if you are the elite, you don't need to mention it.

So, there you have it. Celebrate the uneducated and those with morals for they are the people who live in the real world, work hard, are curious to learn, have comon sense and are hungry to succeed and they will ultimately keep the nation going. Despair for the elite for they lack the courage to do any of the above.