Archive for April, 2008

The DPM and PM should answer questions instead of side-stepping them

choongyong.koh April 24th, 2008

I attended the Parliamentary Sittings on 21 Apr and 22 Apr in the Public Gallery, hoping to be able to listen to the Ministerial Statements by DPM Wong Kan Seng and PM Lee Hsien Loong on the Mas Selemat Escape and the Government’s responsibilities in situations like this.

The COI report did leave some questions to rest, but raised more questions because of the many coincidences and obvious laspes in the whole incident. More confusing, is the way some questions are answered. DPM Wong and PM Lee selectively avoided the crux of certain questions, and sometimes used rhetorical questions to side-step MPs’ questions.

Did MHA conduct regular audits?
One of the key lapses in the report was that the toilet window was without grilles. When asked on Monday “Did MHA conduct regular audits at the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC) prior to the escape of Mas Selemat”, I was expecting a simple “Yes” or “No”, followed by some elaboration of why yes and why no.

Instead, the answer was a description of what procedures there were in the WRDC practiced by the ISD and the Gurkha Contingent and that the ratio of guards is more than that in the prison. After beating around the bush for a few minutes, DPM Wong finally admitted: “The only thing ought to have been done better is a regular system check and audit”. The way he presented the answer masks the fact that the big glaring mistake is the fact that MHA did not institutionalise regular security audit in WRDC.

Dispelling ground speculation
Later in the same session, Mr Low Thia Kiang asked the question “Is the DPM aware that there is speculation that Mas Selamat died inside WRDC?”. Granted that this is a speculation, but as it has been brewing in the ground since the escape in late February, it is definitely in the public’s interest to present some concrete evidence (the COI was given full access to WRDC and the necessary information, and CID has performed “extensive interview and forensic examination of the site”) to help dispel the speculation. Instead, what I observed was that DPM Wong was visibly agitated when rising to answer the question, and side-stepped the question by asking Mr Low if he believed that Mas Selamat is daed.

Whether Mr Low believes Mas Selamat is dead should not change the fact that the DPM should, in the interest of the general public, dispel the speculation, if HE believes that Mas Selamat is not dead.

Oversight role of MHA
The first question to be asked in the 22 Apr 2008 session was from Ms Sylvia Lim: what in PM Lee’s view “is the oversight role of the MHA vis-a-vis the ISD”. PM Lee did not explain the kinds of responsibilities MHA has to take should there be any problem in ISD, neither did he specifically say it is a “hands-off” approach. He basically reiterated the duties of ISA and stated that it “reports to MHA and is accountable to MHA for its performance”. He continued to state that “MHA monitors ISD by tracking whether Singapore stays safe”. Nothing in the response answered the question of what is the MHA’s responsibility should anything go wrong with its subordinate department.

Accountability and responsibility
The most interesting rhetorical question comes when Mr Low again raised to ask a question, on how the PM could reconcile the fact that ministers’ salaries are pegged to the corporate world, whereas their accountability and responsibility when something goes wrong is not. From the Public Gallery, I saw the PM stood up and lightly slapped his notepad on to the lectern before saying “I thought that the member would eventually come to this question.” He went on to give reasons why DPM Wong should not resign, gave general statements like “Companies which change CEOs every two months or every two years do not prosper”.

Of the list of reasons, I think the most absurd are arguments like “if any questions showed the DPM … told people not to grille up the window, …didn’t need so much fencing….”.
He capped the descriptions with a question “let me ask the member (Mr Low) whether he thinks the DPM ought to quit because of this”. Mr Low did not answer, and I don’t think he needed to. PM Lee was again side-stepping the question of how to reconcile high wages with apparently no accountability, so why should Mr Low continue his thread of discussion?

No firm stand?
An article in ZaoBao (议员应该有坚定立场, zaobao 2008-04-23) criticized Mr Low for not having a firm stand. I think the reporter was confused by the many side-stepping and rhetorical questions. If the reporter had kept a clear mind and listened to the questions asked by both Mr Low and Ms Sylvia Lim, it would be very obvious (at least it was very obvious to me) that the firm stand is that there should be accountability and responsibility taken by the MHA (not necessarily the resignation of the Minister, but some form of accountability nevertheless) in this incident. Answering rhetorical question to fuel unnecessary debate (just consider the kinds of debates that will lead to if the rhetorical questions were answered) is not their role.

Is land really scarce in Singapore?

choongyong.koh April 19th, 2008

There are many occasions in which we hear from the Government that certain things cannot be done because we are in “land scarce” Singapore.

Two recent pieces of news appearing on the same day (17 Apr 2008) led me to think again:

The first article proudly announces allocation of more than 30ha of land to “nurture young, high-value trees to meet future demands for landscaping in Singapore”.

The second article mentioned a new 4.36 million sq feet newly built centralised pig farm in Malaysia. According to the article, this facility is a possible future source of pork for Singapore, but it is also quick to point out “while Sarawak might be close by, the rising cost of feeding pigs, and transporting them them might not make pork that much cheaper”.

A quick google convert (just type “convert 30 hectares to sq feet” into your google search box) tells me that 30ha is 3.23 million sq feet, probably about 3/4 of the land needed for the centralised pig farm. (If it is one-storey high. However, I don’t see why a centralised pig farm cannot be multi-storey.)

So the next question on my mind was that, if Singapore has enough land to grow trees for landscaping purposes, will Singapore have enough land to build itself a centralised pig farm? What best way to reduce transportation costs than to locally produce it? Will “land-scarce Singapore” be the retort to such a thought?

There used to be pig farms in Singapore in Punggol, but due to the planned (but not materialized） Punggol 21 development, the farms were discontinued. I am not sure if the farmers were given a choice to relocate, or whether they chose to give up on farming. However, with the global climate of rising food prices and rising transportation costs, pork prices have also gone on a steady (but not as drastic rise as rice prices) increase over the years.

AVA’s strategy so far to fight the world-wide food price inflation, is to diversify food sources by going to ever further countries to secure food supplies. Maybe it is time to develop and strengthen the local food supply, which for the past few years have only been producing less than 13 % of fish, 28% of eggs and 5% vegetables that we consume.

Land is not scarce in Singapore if proper planning goes into each project, as the second page of the SLA annual report this year puts it:

SPACE IS LIMITED ONLY BY YOUR IMAGINATION
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The next SG PM

choongyong.koh April 19th, 2008

I want the next SG PM to be a web2.0 junkie! | the(new)mediaslut

As much as I am for the Web2.0 revolution, I don’t think our present PM understands it very well when he said that he needs to know who the audience is to be able to get to them to correct any mis-information.

Interesting idea though, from the blog post linked above:

Policies will be approved Digg style by the people, for the people, with the people.

Doing things Digg style is definitely a lot more efficient and more reflective of the sentiments (amongst the net-savvy citizens).

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Gout strike 2

choongyong.koh April 18th, 2008

This week I was really unfortunate. Gout attack 1 was on Monday, and the pain on my left ankle peaked on Monday night, making me hope for my heart to stop beating. The pain receded on Tuesday evening and was ok on Wednesday. Somehow, on Thursday afternoon, after making a client visit, a bone that I never knew was protruding at my left sole was very sensitive to touch. Luckily I was still about to sleep through last night, but this morning (which happens to be the day of my second son Kang Heng’s first month rituals), the pain in the left sole started to grow and now my mobility is again limited to how far I can walk using an umbrella as a walking stick.

My left foot

I took the pic above in the afternoon today, just to document how swollen my left foot is now.

Was telling my wife maybe I should be getting a stylo-milo walking stick like that used by Dr House.

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Hoping for my heart to stop beating

choongyong.koh April 15th, 2008

Don’t worry, I am not going suicidal. This is just the thought that went through my mind when my gout attack was at its peak last night. Every beat of the pulse was like a 50-pound hammer striking my red-hot swollen left ankle. It is in times like these, I wish that my heart would stop beating, so that my ankle can get a moment of relief.

Gout is the condition in which excess uric acid in the body crystallizes at joint (in a random pattern), resulting in the body immune system to send the white blood cells to “neutralize” the crystals, thereby inflaming the joint, causing extreme pain that is only second to kidney failure (as a disease).

It started on 13 Oct 2000 morning (I remembered the date because it was Friday the 13th) when I had my first attack on my right knee . It began as a slight discomfort in the joint, which I usually dismiss with a quick jerk of the knee to release a “click”, which will do the trick. That day the “click” did not work, and the pain started to grow so intensely that by the end of the day I was not able to straighten my right knee. Being young and ignorant, I dismissed the problem and carried on with work. I forgot how torturous that evening was but I do remember going to the doctor the next day and ending up lying at home for the next 5 days, immobilized.

The doctor did a blood test subsequently and found my uric acid at a very high level. A check with my mother shows that she suffers from high uric acid level, but Internet researches also told me that males are more susceptible to gout attacks than females.

Strict diet follows: no bean products (tau-hu, tau-pok, tau-huay, tau-kua, all my favourites, not to mention peanut, groundnut, cashew nut); no red meat (beef is a big no no); no alcohol (good news for me, valid excuse to tell people I don’t drink – I don’t like to drink); no shell-fish (no loss to me, prawns, crab, mussels, not my liking). However, throughout the years, as I describe my condition to different people, more items that I supposedly cannot touch pops up: strawberry, spinach, mushrooms, salmon. I have to take these with a pinch of salt, because there are really too many suggestions but mostly are anecdotal. More recently, I even hear from someone telling me I cannot be eating potatoes and yams and sweet potatoes!

However, no matter how I watch my diet, the attacks still come at the rate of about 2-3 times a year. Granted that there are certain times of the year when I am a little lax with myself (who can resist the food at Lunar New Years?), but I also eat with moderation.

Some kind hearted friends suggested some traditional remedies: boiled pandan leaf water, detoxicating teas etc….but it was either the remedies did not work on me, or I was not patient enough to see if they are effective. The problem is that these remedies will not relief the pain when the attacks come, they will only prevent the attacks, and probably I did not continue with the remedies long enough to see if they really stopped the attack.

There was once I seeked Traditional Chinese Medicine help. At the onset of an attack, I ask the sinseh to give me acupuncture to relief the pain. The result was that the pain was worst after the acupuncture, but until now I don’t know if it was the original effect of the attack, or it was the after effect of the acupuncture.

So what I am doing about it now? The only thing left is to see my GP every time I get an attack and get the medicine to reduce the inflammation and relief the pain. Both Western medicine and TCM says that this condition is not curable, meaning that I will have to live with it as long as I am alive. My GP tells me I have to start exercising. Every time I get an attack, I promise myself to start exercising after the attack. When the attack is over, I am usually so overwhelmed with other things that exercising slide down the todo list into the section unofficially for tasks that I mean-to-do-but-will-almost-never-get-down-to-it.

However, this time is a little different because it is the first time I blog extensively on this. Let me promise myself that I will pick up some form of exercising (I actually got an exercising machine at home after last year’s gout attack) and sustain it after I recover from this round of attack.

Wish me luck. :) In the mean time, I am still trying to distract myself by doing something (like blogging) instead of thinking about the pain in my ankle (it has subsided to a numb soreness, but still aches when I try to move the ankle)..