China and catharsis in the words of Zhao

May 22, 2009

China and catharsis in the words of Zhao
By Verna Yu

HONG KONG - Last week's publication of the memoir of former Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted for supporting the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement in 1989, has no doubt sent shock waves through the top echelons of the party ahead of the June 4 anniversary of the crackdown.

Zhao, who was kept under house arrest for nearly 16 years after the events until his death in 2005, was someone the Chinese government wanted the world to forget about. When he died, state television and newspapers only carried a terse one-line obituary for "Comrade Zhao", without mentioning his former titles.

But four years after his death, and 20 years after the military crackdown on Tiananmen Square, the man the authorities thought they had silenced forever is speaking from the grave.

"On the night of June 3, while sitting in the courtyard with my family, I heard intense gunfire," Zhao says on one recording. "A tragedy to shock the world had not been averted, and was happening after all."

The memoirs, which were secretly recorded during his house arrest, have been published abroad and are certain to be banned in mainland China. In them Zhao condemns the killings of protestors as a "tragedy" and rejects the official verdict that they were "anti-revolutionary rioters". He also confirmed the widely held view that paramount leader Deng Xiaoping ordered the crackdown and said China must adopt democracy if it wanted to be a true modern society with the rule of law.

In the 30 hours of recordings, he also detailed the political tussles behind the Tiananmen crackdown, his battles with the conservative faction, how he and Deng differed in their principles - the conflict which eventually led to his downfall - as well as his views on market reform and democracy.

Zhao had made notes of his recollection of events in 1993, and urged by a few close friends, started to record his memoir in 2000, said Bao Pu, translator and editor of the details that have been put together into the book, Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Zhao Ziyang.

"We can say for sure that he wanted his version of history to survive," said Bao, the son of Zhao's top aide Bao Tong, in a phone interview.

Zhao secretly recorded his words over music cassettes of children's songs and the Peking Opera without informing his family. He passed them onto a few trusted friends who kept them for him and the tapes were eventually taken out of the country. Zhao is said to have hidden his plan from his family to protect them.

Zhao's daughter, Wang Yannan, said her father clearly wanted to leave behind his version of history so people could learn the truth.

"He was [under house arrest] for more than a decade, he had reflected a lot about the past but he had no platform to speak out. I think he wanted to restore a truthful version of history and to put across his views for the record."

"I think he felt people had the right to know the truth ... and he had the responsibility to tell them," she said in a phone interview.

Although many of the facts from the Tiananmen crackdown in Zhao's memoir are now known to the outside world, analysts say the memoir nonetheless helped clarify some historical mysteries. It was also the first time that a Chinese official of his stature had spoken so candidly about his own political life and the struggles within the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party.

"I think the most important thing about this memoir is that it is the first time that Zhao has given in his own words an account of important meetings and course of discussions ... some of which had been subjects of speculation," said Chris Yeung, a political columnist at the South China Morning Post.

"It's the first time we've seen Zhao's version, so it's obviously authoritative."

Contrary to most reports, which suggest that the decision to dispatch troops was the result of a vote of three to two by the powerful Politburo Standing Committee, Zhao revealed in his memoir that there was no such vote and that Deng was influenced by hardliners such as then-premier Li Peng, and was ultimately responsible for the crackdown.

"It sheds light on the decision-making process of the Politburo Standing Committee at the time ... amid the crisis situation, it was Deng Xiaoping who made the important decision at the end of the day," Yeung said.

Zhao also highlights that Deng and himself had very different ideas on political reform. What Deng had in mind was more of an administrative reform aimed at shoring up one-party rule rather than democratization. This division perhaps explained why Deng later decided to drop his plan to have Zhao as his successor, said Yeung.

Zhao also contested the widely held view that Deng was the architect behind the market reforms which transformed China into an economic power house.

Roderick MacFarquhar, a professor of Chinese history at Harvard University, wrote in the foreword to the book that Zhao rather than Deng should be credited as the originator of the reforms, as it was he who did much of the ground work.

For instance, it was Zhao who realized that the country's commitment to rural collectivization was outdated and embraced a national household responsibility system as the way to develop agriculture and raise farm incomes, MacFarquhar wrote. "Reading Zhao's unadorned and un-boastful account of his stewardship, it becomes apparent that it was he rather than Deng who was the actual architect of reform," MacFarquhar wrote.

But Zhao's central role in China's economic reforms could never be given any credit. When China celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, Zhao's name and images were banned from all state TV and publications. It is obvious the authorities were determined to airbrush him from their version of history.

To many China watchers, what was perhaps one of the most surprising and interesting revelations from the former Communist Party chief was his support for Western-style parliamentary democracy.

"If a country wishes to modernize, not only should it implement a market economy, it must also adopt a parliamentary democracy as its political system," Zhao says.

Otherwise, Zhao said, China would not be able to have a healthy and modern market economy but would see "commercialization of power, rampant corruption, a society polarized between rich and poor". As it turns out, his prediction proved to be sadly accurate.

Bao Pu believed this was one message that Zhao most wanted to put across.

"He acknowledged that whatever fault you can find with the Western-style [democratic] parliamentary system, there is no better system, that message came out quite clearly," Bao said.

Bao's father Bao Tong, who was Zhao's top aide, said current Chinese leaders should learn a lesson from Zhao's memoirs.

"[They should reflect] on many questions: how they should look at June 4 [Tiananmen crackdown], what policy should be implemented to avoid getting [further] into the current situation of a rich-poor gap and rampant corruption," said the senior Bao, who spent seven years in prison after the crackdown and still lives under tight surveillance.

"I think they can get the answer from this book."

But his message may fall on deaf ears. Responding to journalists' questions on Zhao's memoir, the Chinese Foreign Ministry this week reiterated the official position that China's economic success in the decades after the Tiananmen crackdown justified the act.

And Zhao's advice from the grave might not have come at the best time.

Ching Cheong, a veteran journalist who covered the pro-democracy movement in 1989, said since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and more recently the US financial crisis, China has been feeling increasingly justified about its so-called China model, which allows economic freedom but suppresses political freedom.

"Their opinion is that the Western way is not suitable for China," Ching said. "There is quite a gap between the conclusion of Zhao Ziyang and public opinion in China today."

"The chaos [in other countries] has been used to prove that the crackdown was necessary and that this system is good."

But Bao Tong, who was director of the Political Reform Bureau of the powerful Communist Party's Central Committee at the time of Zhao's leadership, warned that the failure to reflect on China's own mistakes would end in disaster.

"If we want to avoid another Cultural Revolution [1], we must learn from the West," Bao said. "To reject outright the Western political system is to say we want to keep alive the spirit of the Cultural Revolution, and this kind of thing will reoccur."

"If they did things Zhao Ziyang's way, solving problems through negotiations on a basis of democracy and rule of law, not only would the tragedy have been avoided ... it would have pushed China's political system to a new phase."

Note
1. The Cultural Revolution was a period of widespread social and political upheaval; nation-wide chaos and economic disarray engulfed much of Chinese society between 1966 and 1976. It was launched by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, on May 16, 1966, who alleged that liberal bourgeoisie elements were dominating the party and insisted that they needed to be removed through post-revolutionary class struggle by mobilizing the thoughts and actions of China’s youth, who formed Red Guards groups around the country. - Wikipedia

Verna Yu is a Hong Kong-based journalist.

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Recession 'shape' points down

May 22, 2009

Recession 'shape' points down
By W Joseph Stroupe

We've heard a lot of talk about the shape of this "recession", especially for the United States. The optimists think it will be V-shaped and that we are even now seeing the bounce upward toward growth again. Those somewhat more in tune with the deeply worrying fundamentals think it will be U-shaped, and they think we've probably hit the bottom, or nearly so, but we have some months to go before growth begins again. Then there are the pessimists, who insist on being called realists, who think it will be L-shaped, with America's economy stagnating perhaps for an entire decade, or even more after it reaches the bottom of this recession.

Finally, there are those relative handful of so-called "prophets of gloom and doom", who continue to advise that this isn't merely a severe recession, but is rather the opening phase of a full-blown crisis, a financial/economic collapse centered in the US in which the severe recession is merely one of many repercussions to come.

They predict the crisis will be shaped like a series of steps going downward - in effect, a series of collapses with deceptive plateaus in between, with economic growth returning very slowly and painfully in the US and the UK several years off from today. They insist that we haven't even remotely seen the bottom yet, but have only experienced the first few steps downward so far, and that there are several more to come. They also warn that the worst for the US and the UK, by far, is yet to come.

Obviously, those in this last category of prognosticators aren't very popular, in spite of the fact that, by and large, they were primarily the ones who called this present dire crisis correctly, some of them doing so years in advance. Yours truly is proud to be in this last category.

At present, the optimists generally have the floor, as the media report multiple developments that are said to signal a turnaround, and the Wall Street rally that began on March 9, after US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's US$1 trillion toxic asset removal plan was announced, continues. In the crucial housing sector, pending sales of previously owned homes jumped 3.2% after a 2% jump the previous month, for the first back-to-back jump in more than a year.

Foreclosure-driven housing price collapses and Federal Reserve-driven mortgage rate decreases are putting homes in reach for more first-time buyers, who accounted for at least 50% of the pending home sales contracts.

However, the continued losses in the weakening job market and soaring foreclosure rates, with foreclosures reaching a record 803,489 in the first quarter alone, are likely to overwhelm such "green shoots" of "recovery". Builders of new homes are struggling as buyers flock to foreclosed properties at bargain prices. Thus, a genuine recovery of the vital housing sector is not genuinely being signaled yet.

Bigger trouble looms, regardless of this Wall Street rally and other "green shoots". Geithner's toxic asset removal plan hasn't worked yet, and it and other government plans face huge obstacles. Fears over the size of US debt are swiftly mounting, while China has "cancelled our credit card", according to US Senator Mark Kirk, referring to the fact that China's investors have radically slowed their purchase of US Treasury bonds in the past three months.

While Kirk's statement may reflect a significant measure of jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in, we nonetheless are witnessing a meaningful deterioration in the quality of foreign financing of the US Treasury. This extremely important development must not be lost in the fog of the present crisis. We should not be distracted by fleeting "green shoots" that appear and then disappear as suddenly, but analyze the condition of the roots, from whence all else of consequence emerges.

So before we can intelligently choose what the most likely shape of this crisis will turn out to be for the US, we must first look at its root causes to determine if these are actually being remedied, and if not, what the impact will be of a crisis like the present one whose root causes are not adequately and accurately addressed soon enough.

If we find from our investigation that the present severe recession is indeed only a symptom of something much more serious, that efforts to deal with the crisis are not reaching the root causes, that many of these efforts are actually exacerbating the situation in very dangerous ways, and that the present global environment in which the US operates as an economic power has changed so radically that a resumption of US growth anytime soon can no longer be taken for granted, then our choice of the most likely shape for this crisis is made far easier, is it not?

Economists often speak about the boom-bust "cycle" and implicitly insinuate or explicitly state that this bust, though severe, is merely part of the perpetual boom-bust cycle, and that growth will inevitably (and almost automatically) return soon, once the bust portion of the cycle runs its course and resets the financial and economic parameters for a resumption of growth. Thus, a resumption of growth before long is taken for granted.

Is the present crisis merely part of such a perpetual cycle of growth followed by downturn followed by growth again? Or has this crisis arisen out of extraordinary root causes which have actually derailed economic growth for the foreseeable future, destroyed financial and economic viability and stability, and severely discredited America's models of capitalism and finance on fundamental levels? Are you open-minded enough to give fair hearing to the facts that point unmistakably in the direction of extraordinary root causes that are producing the present crisis?

Income-based model versus asset-based model
At fundamental issue here is the new asset-based economic/financial model (as contrasted with a traditional income-based model) which the US and Britain in particular have progressively adopted over the past couple of decades, and whether that new model is really workable and revivable in the light of its massive collapse that began with the emergence of the subprime crisis in late July of 2007.

The US economy has rapidly converted from a traditional, income-generating machine to a so-called "new economy", an asset-inflating one. An income-generating machine derives wealth from the production and sale of goods and services, while an asset-inflating one derives wealth from accelerated asset appreciation, or targeted inflation of assets - in other words, by the creation of serial asset bubbles. In this new model, traditional wealth generation takes a back seat to "paper" wealth generation via serial asset bubble creation.

In the traditional income-based economic model, the financial sector serves to support the real economy, where the vast bulk of real income is generated, by providing credit and other traditional financing services aimed at sustaining existing and fostering new income-generating business ventures, and supporting consumer spending via traditional credit services. The income generated in the financial sector is not of major proportions, but is a distant second to that generated in the real economy.

The asset-based model is radically different. In this new model, innovative and grandiose opportunities arise for the generation of gigantic sums of "paper" wealth from within the financial sector itself, thanks to what can only be called the fostering of an incestuous relationship between government and Big Finance.

It is a relationship in which the state nurtures the negative real interest rate monetary environment and the "free" (inordinately unrestrained) market conditions wherein colossal asset bubbles can be grown, nurtured and capitalized upon by Big Finance, employing what has come to be known as "securitization" - the "innovative" process of the creation and marketing to global investors of cleverly packaged, deceptively credit-rated financial assets based upon, and secured by, the asset bubbles that have been fostered under the asset-based model.

That being the case, a huge financial services-based industry that is very tightly coupled to the wealth-generating core of the financial sector, Wall Street in America's case, proliferates its tentacles far and wide.

In this new model the entire economy takes on a decidedly finance/investment/asset-oriented complexion, with such ventures and operations coming to the foreground, while traditional income-based business tends to be eclipsed. When America's adoption of this new model is considered in conjunction with the decades-long trend of the withering of America's once-mighty traditional manufacturing sector, one can appreciate how America's "new economy" model has radically changed how it generates much of its $14 trillion of gross domestic product each year. A very large portion of that wealth is generated by, or is directly and considerably dependent upon, the new asset-based ventures and operations in the Wall Street core of the financial sector.

Catastrophic flaws in the asset-based model
Because the new asset-based model relies upon serial asset bubble creation (inflation) in order to thrive, the model simply chokes and suffocates when the environment of the massive credit excess needed to grow such bubbles is removed.

Hence, Washington's policies in attempting to deal with this crisis are all centered upon recreating the massive credit excess that it hopes will "reboot" the model and bring it back to life by re-inflating the assets whose values have collapsed in this crisis.

Therefore, Washington and Wall Street aren't interested in, nor are they attempting to revert to the traditional income-based model. Rather, they are committed to sinking all their efforts and all America's wealth into rebooting the new asset-based model. The salient question here is whether the model can be rebooted without triggering a cascade of much greater damage than it has already wrought.

One can easily see that the new asset-based model is an extremely dangerous trade-off between rapid and easy wealth creation on the one hand and acutely increased vulnerability and instability on the other hand, for the asset bubbles grown under the model inevitably rupture, leaving mountains of toxic rubble in their wake.

And when an economy subscribes to and adopts this new model to an excessive degree, as both America and Britain have done, thereby investing their future too fully in that model, then that economy invites catastrophe when all viable assets have been "bubbled and ruptured" and there's nothing left to feed the model to keep it breathing. That is precisely where America and Britain have now arrived.

Asset bubbles are not new. They have existed and they have ruptured before, as in the Great Depression. What is new about the asset-based model is that, under the tutelage of such slipshod architects as former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, the perilous prospects for massive "paper" wealth generation afforded by asset bubbles (which would be calculatedly produced) were then consciously incorporated into a new economic/financial model actually intended to supersede the traditional income-based model, a new model that was deceptively and successfully hawked to the dim political leadership in Washington and London.
Additionally, what is also new about the asset-based model is the raft of revolutionary new financial instruments and assets it fosters that ingeniously leverage the foundational asset bubbles in order to magnify "paper" wealth generation many times over.

Finally, what is new is the swiftness with which new asset bubbles have been created, their unprecedented proportions, and the sheer number of bubbles that have been produced in such a compressed period of time - primarily in the past 10-15 years - and the severe damage that has been caused by their rupture.

Well, the architects and adoptees of the new asset-based model have gotten what they aimed for. Their brainchild has, indeed superseded the traditional income-based model. America and Britain are inordinately dependent upon that new model for economic growth. Look at the severe repercussions they are suffering as a result of the crash of the model. Neither can hope to return to economic growth any time in the foreseeable future without the successful rebooting of their asset-based model - a prospect whose chances are slim to none.

Full-blown collapse of the new model
This severe recession is much less about the business cycle and much more about the collapse of the new asset-based model, and the fact that the US and UK cannot simply revert to the traditional income-based model to resolve their self-made crisis. They've both become far too committed to the new model.

A reversion would take a decade or more to accomplish, even if it could be accomplished, and in the meantime the rest of the world (where the traditional income-based model survives and thrives) would not wait for the US and UK, but would unquestionably overwhelm the two. (If the new model cannot soon be rebooted to thrive again, then that is going to happen anyway).

Attempting to reboot the new model carries gargantuan risks, whether it sputters back to life or stays dead. The colossal sums of new debt being racked up, the hyper-inflationary forces, the inevitable era of high taxation, the eventual severe damage to the US dollar and the British pound that is being set firmly in place, the undermining of the creditworthiness of sovereign debt, are just some of the risks.

As severely as America's "new economy" has been discredited in this crisis, which has infected the entire globe, who's going to buy its collection of severely tainted dollar-denominated financial assets even if the model does sputter back to life? And how much would anyone be willing to pay for them? America and Britain are in colossal trouble.

The present crisis, which is not merely a recession fueled by the boom-bust cycle, actually signifies the asphyxiation of the asset-based model. Oh, it may for a time keep flailing its arms about while it suffers its death throes, and it might even sit up on the gurney once or twice to protest its own demise, but it cannot get up and promenade again. It is on total life support and must eventually be declared brain-dead.

There have been warning signs of this impending death, but these were largely ignored or misinterpreted as merely part of the perpetual boom-bust cycle. One such warning sign was the destructive rupture of the equities and dot-com bubbles in 1999/2001, which wiped out many trillions of dollars of wealth, cast American's pensions into an irresolvable crisis and savaged America's lead role in the IT technology sector. Catastrophe, like what we're now witnessing, was only avoided (temporarily) back then because the Fed and Wall Street quickly collaborated on the swift creation of new bubbles in real estate and stocks. Now that these are rupturing, there are no remaining virgin assets to feed to the asset-based model. That's why efforts are underway to attempt to reflate the old, previously ruptured asset bubbles and all the innovative financial assets coupled to them.

The shape of this crisis, then, is a series of steps proceeding downward into the gloom for the US and Britain. The two powers are guilty of massive over-reach, and now they are suffering the terrible consequences. Sooner or later, these ongoing events that were inevitable, and that should have been foreseen before the new asset-based model was so enthusiastically and wholly adopted, will force the two powers to make the gut-wrenching, long reversion back to a more traditional economic model.

The longer their leaders resist this, the more profoundly painful and destructive the adjustment will become. Obviously, this situation provides a tremendous opportunity for the rest of the world, but especially for the increasingly wealthy and powerful states in the East, to capitalize in various ways. The ongoing crash of the US and UK liberal capitalistic incarnations of the asset-based economic/financial model also, therefore, signifies the collective rise of the Eastern managed-capitalistic (authoritarian) incarnations of the traditional income-based model.

W Joseph Stroupe is a strategic forecasting expert and editor of Global Events Magazine online at www.globaleventsmagazine.com

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Malaysia Proposes Third Bridge Link To Singapore

May 22, 2009 14:50 PM

Malaysia Proposes Third Bridge Link To Singapore

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, May 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has proposed to Singapore that a new bridge be built to link the eastern side of Johor to the island republic.

The new bridge will help to further facilitate the movement of people and goods and services between both countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said at a joint media conference with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong here today.

Najib, who is here since yesterday for a two-day official visit to the city-state, said the new bridge would also help to develop the eastern side of Johor such as areas in Pengerang, including Desaru, which were still less developed and had huge economic potential.

He said the current linkages, such as the Johor Causeway, were having a high volume of traffic and had affected the smooth movement of people and goods between both the neighbouring countries.

Both sides agreed to look at the proposal in the medium and long term and also agreed to commission a study to look at the bridge viability, Najib said, adding that the new bridge proposal was one of the outcomes of their bilateral meeting to further enhance the close cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore.

Currently, the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia is connected to Singapore by the ageing Johor Causeway and the Second Link crossing in Tuas.

In 2006, Malaysia dropped a plan to build a second bridge replacing the Johor Causeway after it hit a dead-end following some disagreement between the two neighbours.

Lee also suggested that the Johor Causeway be broadened and the rail link connecting both sides of the causeway be improved to further ease traffic movement.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the Istana, Najib inspected a military guard-of-honour before proceeding straight to a four-eyed meeting with Lee.

The two leaders later joined the bilateral meeting involving the top official delegations from both sides.

The Malaysian delegation included Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister�s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Najib also said he proposed that a wellness centre be set up in the Iskandar Malaysia development area in Johor as an iconic investment that would showcase the growing cooperation between the two countries.

The prime minister said the wellness centre would appeal to not only Singaporeans but also Malaysians and foreign visitors as going for spas, medical treatment, homeopathy and herbal treatment was the "in" thing to many people now.

Najib said that as part of another iconic investment, Lee proposed that a new township for mixed development be opened so that Singaporeans could have more flexibility to invest or relocate their businesses in Singapore to Iskandar Malaysia.

Saying that Iskandar Malaysia had progressed so much since it was launched in 2006 and had attracted about RM42.6 billion in investments, Najib said he hoped to see more participation from Singaporeans in the southern development corridor.

Najib also said that Malaysia had agreed to Singapore's request to open a counsellor's office in Johor Baharu to assist Singaporeans in need of assistance there.

Lee had said that an increasing number of Singaporeans were now going to or passing through Johor and there was no one to assist them if they were in trouble as he personally experienced it when Singaporeans started calling him for help when they were stuck there.

Najib also said that to further enhance their relations, both governments had agreed to encourage more air linkages between the two countries, especially by the low-cost carriers.

On security, Lee again thanked the Malaysian authorities for recapturing Singapore's most wanted fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari, the suspected leader of the Jemaah Islamiah militant group, in Johor last month.

However, to a question, Najib said there was no timeline as to when Mas Selamat would be returned to Singapore but the authorities here would be kept abreast of the information or intelligence gathered by the Malaysian side.

Najib also said that Malaysia had agreed to Singapore's request to open a consulate office in Johor Baharu to assist Singaporeans in need of assistance there.

Lee had said that an increasing number of Singaporeans were now going to or passing through Johor and there was no one to assist them if they were in trouble as he personally experienced it when Singaporeans started calling him for help when they were stuck there.

Najib also said that to further enhance their relations, both governments had agreed to encourage more air linkages between the two countries, especially by the low-cost carriers.

On security, Lee again thanked the Malaysian authorities for recapturing Singapore's most wanted fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari, the suspected leader of the Jemaah Islamiah militant group, in Johor last month.

However, to a question, Najib said there was no timeline as to when Mas Selamat would be returned to Singapore but the authorities here would be kept abreast of the information or intelligence gathered by the Malaysian side.

Najib said his discussion with Lee today was good and it was another step in the Malaysia-Singapore relationship.

Both Najib and Lee hoped that the old legacy of problems they inherited in the last 18 years could be solved as soon as possible.

"We don't have to wait for another 18 years to solve these problems," Najib said referring to the Points of Agreement that deals with the issue of the future of railway land owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu in Singapore.

Najib said the foreign ministers of both countries would meet to study further the matter and hoped that it could be solved in a "win-win situation" for both sides.

After the news conference, Najib left for Friday prayers at the Sultan Mosque, Singapore's oldest, in Arab Street.

-- BERNAMA

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Singapore's Temasek defends costly Bank of America exit

Fri May 22, 2009 2:13am EDT

By Kevin Lim and Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Temasek defended its money-losing exit from Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), saying the U.S.-centric bank did not fit its investment criteria and the risk was perceived to be greater than the expected return.

The explanation, a rarity for the state investor, came in a letter to major Singapore newspapers after the loss on BofA attracted fierce criticism from the usually muted pro-government local media, investors and independent blogs, which noted BofA shares have rallied more than 70 percent after Temasek's exit.

The losses are also expected to be discussed when Singapore's Parliament convenes next week.

Temasek, which is headed by Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's prime minister, sold its 3 percent stake in BofA in the first quarter after converting its Merrill shares into BofA in January. Temasek has not said how much it lost in the process, but Reuters estimated the loss was more than $3 billion.

Temasek announced in February that Ho will step down and be replaced by Chip Goodyear, the former CEO of BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), on October 1.

"Our investment thesis had changed from Merrill's specific businesses to the more diversified BoA linkage to the broader U.S. economy. The risk-return environment had also changed substantially," Myrna Thomas, managing director for corporate affairs, said in the letter.

Temasek's aim is to ensure that its portfolio delivers returns that are higher than the cost of capital employed on a risk-adjusted basis, Thomas said.

"We may choose to divest an investment, even at a loss, to optimize our risk or portfolio exposure, or if there are better opportunities elsewhere or later," she added.

Temasek, which like other sovereign wealth funds, plowed billions into Merrill Lynch in the early phase of the credit crisis, saw the value of its portfolio plunge 31 percent to S$127 billion between March 31 and Nov 30 last year during the severe market turmoil.

KEY QUESTION UNANSWERED

Financial investments accounted for 40 percent of its portfolio.

"The letter doesn't give the answer that everybody is asking. How much did they lose?," Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, told Reuters.

The exact losses are difficult to quantify because Temasek had also offloaded about 30 million Merrill shares last year in smaller lots, reducing its exposure to the investment bank by the time BofA took over Merrill.

Conraj Raj, editor-at-large at the Today newspaper in Singapore, threw the spotlight on the sovereign wealth fund's stated strategy of taking a long-term view of its investments.

"After all, it has been drummed into us ad nauseam that both Temasek and its cousin, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, invest for the long term with a time horizon that could stretch for as long as 50 years," he wrote on May 18.

"Whatever happened to the sovereign wealth fund's (SWF) strategy of taking a long-term view of its investments?"

Singapore's bigger sovereign wealth fund, GIC, on the other hand said it was a long-term investor in Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

"It is difficult to understand why a long-term investor like Temasek was willing to stick with a dud like Australia's ABC Learning centers to the end, but did not try to exercise a little bit more patience with a U.S. government-backed entity like BofA," Png Eng Huat wrote in a letter to Straits Times forum.

"The U.S. government has stated clearly that it will not nationalize BofA even though it is technically the largest shareholder of the bank."

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What a secular organisation means in Singapore

What a secular organisation means in Singapore

YESTERDAY'S letter, "Challenging logic" by Mrs Carolyn Tan begs for a disagreement.

Mrs Tan had noted that the fact that the ousted executive committee of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) came from the same church did not mean that there was a "grand design to gobble up Aware".

What is important is that the ousted exco comprised Christians from the same church and all of them are Chinese.

Aware ought to comprise leaders from different races and religions because it is a secular organisation which aims help all women in Singapore regardless of race, language, religion, nationality and profession.

If all its exco members were Christian and Chinese from the same church, I believe non-Christians and non-Chinese would be less comfortable in approaching Aware for help. Aware, which claims to be diverse, would therefore lose in its mission.

No secular organisation ought to have an exco comprising members from the same race and same religious background.

Ace Kindred Cheong

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Why Temasek sold its stake in BoA

May 22, 2009
REBALANCING PORTFOLIO
Why Temasek sold its stake in BoA

I REFER to recent reports and commentaries on Temasek's divestment of its Bank of America (BoA) stake. We would like to clarify some of the points raised.

Temasek invests with the objective of delivering sustainable returns over the long term. This means our investment strategy is not aimed at delivering target returns on a year-by-year basis. This is why we report our portfolio returns not just for a single year, but for various time horizons in our annual Temasek Review.

To achieve our investment objectives, we constantly review our portfolio and rebalance it from time to time. We may choose to divest an investment, even at a loss, to optimise our risk or portfolio exposures, or if there are better opportunities elsewhere or later. We may also choose to hold or increase our existing investments.

Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that our portfolio delivers returns that are higher than the cost of capital employed on a risk-adjusted basis, or what we call Wealth-Added.

Our investment in Merrill Lynch was made in December 2007. This was exchanged into BoA shares in January this year following BoA's completion of its September 2008 offer to buy Merrill.

Our investment thesis had changed from Merrill's specific businesses to the more diversified BoA linkage to the broader US economy. The risk-return environment had also changed substantially.

We decided to divest our BoA stake after considering all relevant factors.

This move to balance risks against opportunities is part and parcel of our discipline of investing and divesting to deliver sustainable long-term returns on our entire portfolio.

We are mindful of the risks we face as we invest. We reinforce this risk-return balance through a compensation framework which puts the institution above the individual, emphasises long term over short term, and aligns employee and shareholder interests for both the upside and downside, over the medium and long term.

While we do our best to mitigate risks, the reality is that not every one of our investments will be equally successful. We recognise that only time will tell if we have made the right decisions to deliver sustainable returns on our portfolio as a whole.

Myrna Thomas (Ms)
Managing Director,
Corporate Affairs Temasek Holdings

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Review of censorship

May 21, 2009
Addendum to President's Address
Review of censorship
By Clarissa Oon

Singapore will reconvene a committee this year to review its censorship of media and the arts. --PHOTO: SINGAPORE ARTS FESTIVAL
SINGAPORE will reconvene a committee this year to review its censorship of media and the arts. The move is aimed at giving citizens more choices without compromising social fundamentals.

This independent Censorship Review Committee (CRC) will study content regulations in broadcast media, films, videos, publications, audio materials, the arts and new media to see if they need updating.

The last time such a review took place was in 2003, said the Ministry Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) in a statement on Thursday, elaborating on its addendum to the President's address in Parliament on Monday.

Previous CRC reviews were held every 10 years.

This time, the committee will be reconvened earlier to help Mica and the Media Development Authority keep pace with the rapidly-changing media environment and societal changes.

Issues that have been raised by industry players include fine-tuning of film and video classifications, video distribution and rules on entertainment and lifestyle publications.

The CRC will also look at what the convergence of multiple media platforms means for content regulations.

Its chairman and members will be announced soon.

Mica has also said it will continue to invest in the arts and creative industries despite the economic downturn.

It plans to open a new library in Clementi and relocate the Orchard library to the new Specialist Shopping Centre. The old library at Orchard moved out of Ngee Ann City in end-2007.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=29374.1

Quantum Leaps Of Logic

Quantum Leaps Of Logic

Forum writer Mrs Carolyn Tan saw through the “quantum leap of logic” in Kishore Mahbubani’s article (The Virtues of Secularism, Straits Times 20 May), wherein the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore alleged that “there was a grand design by a religious group to venture into the secular domain and gobble up Aware,” just because the ladies involved happened to attend the same congregational services.

So what else is new? After all, while being Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, he also wrote another article (”Following Singapore’s Lead on the Road of Development”, Earth Times, January 15, 2001) which boasted: “There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in Singapore. Poverty has been eradicated, not through an entitlements program (there are virtually none) but through a unique partnership between the government, corporate citizens, self-help groups and voluntary initiatives.”

But it was scary to read that he once upset the Cubans by telling them that if it is legitimate for Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan, it will also be legitimate for the United States to invade Cuba. That was the result of his interpretation of the so-called simple rule of logic: All specific propositions can be universalised. In reality, the British philosopher he quoted, R.M. Hare in his book “The Language Of Morals”, was talking about the principle of universality of moral statements, not perverse twists of logic. Example of the latter: we don’t want our ministers to be tempted by money, so we pay them obscene sums of money.

In the same article that spoilt Mrs Tan’s day, Mahbubani also wrote that a logical argument in one culture is equally logical in another culture, “just as mathematical truths are equally valid in all cultures.” Oh yeah, the Talibans find it very logical to blow up the girls’ schools and not those for boys, since girls’ school teach promiscuity, a conspiracy of the West to inflict the Muslim children with deadly diseases. Let’s see Mahbubani embrace that in his culture.

It all goes to show that having your name prefixed with a “dean” doesn’t mean zilch. Remember the first female dean of the law faculty, the one featured on page 73?


http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.422

Singapore GDP falls 14.6%

May 21, 2009

S'pore GDP falls 14.6%

Singapore, however, maintained its forecast for the economy to shrink by 6 to 9 per cent this year and kept its inflation outlook at between minus 1 per cent and zero. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

SINGAPORE'S economy in the first quarter of 2009 shrank at an annualised and seasonally adjusted rate of 14.6 per cent, a smaller contraction than expected, final government data showed on Thursday.

RELATED LINKS 2009 GDP GROWTH PRESS RELEASE

The fall in the gross domestic product rate was also smaller than a drop of 19.7 per cent reported in advanced figures on April 14 and marked the fourth straight quarter of economic contraction in what the government has described as the trade-reliant island's worst-ever recession.

GDP in the first three months of the year fell 10.1 per cent from a year earlier, also less than expected and a smaller fall than 11.5 per cent reported in the earlier April data.

Since the advanced figures were released , manufacturing data for January and February has been revised up, although some analysts had pointed to weakness in the services sector.

Singapore, however, maintained its forecast for the economy to shrink by 6 to 9 per cent this year and kept its inflation outlook at between minus 1 per cent and zero.

Analysts had expected the revised data to show the economy shrank at an annualised and seasonally adjusted rate of 17.0 per cent in the first quarter and expected a contraction of 11.1 per cent from a year earlier.

Like other exporters, Singapore's economy has been hit hard by the global downturn following the slump in the US housing market and credit crunch. -- THOMSON REUTERS

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'Silver tsunami' ahead

May 21, 2009

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

'Silver tsunami' ahead

2,000 more nursing home beds in five years

Eldersave, ElderShield, Elderfund being developed

Manpower expansion and training in health care

By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
		Pressure on nursing homes here, like the Society for the Aged Sick, will increase as the population ages. Work on five new nursing homes will start within two years. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

IN THE coming decade, Singapore's health-care system will come under pressure from an ageing population coupled with an increase in mental ailments.

National screening to cut down cases of colorectal cancer TESTS for colorectal cancer, the most common cancer in Singapore, will be offered as part of a national screening programme by next year. Singaporeans between the ages of 50 and 69 will be invited to take the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), used to detect human blood in stool samples. ... more

To cope, the Health Ministry will add more than 2,000 nursing home beds over the next five years - with about half devoted to the care of the mentally ill.

In the Health Addendum to the President's Address at the opening of Parliament on Monday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke of the need to prepare for a 'silver tsunami'.

The population here is ageing rapidly. The number of people who are over 65 years old is expected to treble to 900,000 by 2030 - from 300,000 today.

This is the driving force behind the development of a second heart and cancer centre, a new general hospital in Yishun and another in Jurong, and the expansion of the National University Health System's dental centre.

'We will increase our subventions to intermediate and long-term care facilities to help them meet growing patient needs,' said Mr Khaw. These include community hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.

Work on five new nursing homes will start within two years, including a 300-bed home for patients with psychiatric problems to be ready by 2012.

The ministry will also be releasing two plots of land for the building of private nursing homes. And it will help two existing homes run by voluntary welfare organisations (VWO) to relocate to new and larger facilities.

To help patients pay for all these services, the ministry will develop the 3Es - Eldersave, ElderShield and Elderfund.

Mr Khaw also touched on palliative care or the management of pain, and the need to let the elderly sick die with dignity, a theme he has touched on several times this year.

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Cornoner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall: Body had 36 wounds

May 21, 2009

Cornoner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall

Body had 36 wounds

Pathologist asked if cuts could have been inflicted during a struggle

By Sujin Thomas & Kimberly Spykerman
		The dead student's (from left) older brother William Widjaja, mother Huang Lixian and father Hartanto Widjaja were at the hearing yesterday, seeking answers to his death. -- ST PHOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

View more photos

WHEN he was found below a bridge at the Nanyang Technological University, undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja had more than 36 wounds on his body.

About the case Nanyang Technological University undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, was found dead after falling from a bridge on campus on March 2. Mr Widjaja, an Indonesian national, was in his final year at NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. ... more Close friend also on the stand Also on the stand on Wednesday was a close friend of Mr Widjaja, fellow Indonesian undergraduate Hardian Setiawan Winata. The final-year student described his friend as a hard worker in his first year at university. However, he added that subsequently, Mr Widjaja appeared distracted and spent a lot of time in his room playing computer games, often skipping tutorials as a result. ... more

Many of these were cuts on his arms and hands, as well as abrasions, a packed Coroner's Court was told on Wednesday at the start of a five-day inquest into circumstances surrounding the Indonesian undergrad's death on March 2.

The 21-year-old final-year student at the university's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering fell four storeys to his death that morning. He allegedly had a quarrel earlier with his final-year project (FYP) supervisor, Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, during which the latter was stabbed.

On Wednesday, pathologist Dr Marian Wang, who carried out an autopsy on Mr Widjaja, said the undergraduate suffered several other injuries, including a fractured breast bone.

These, she said, were consistent with someone who had fallen from a height.

Based on what she found, Dr Wang, the registrar of the Centre for Forensic Medicine of the Health Sciences Authority, concluded that Mr Widjaja had died from multiple injuries, she told the court yesterday.

Asked about the cuts on the student's arms and hands, Dr Wang said they could have been inflicted while he was involved in a struggle with another party to gain control of a knife. Some wounds may have also been self-inflicted, she added.

During cross-examination, lawyer Shashi Nathan, who represents the Widjaja family - they were in court on Wednesday, along with Indonesian media and embassy representatives - asked Dr Wang whether some injuries were defensive in nature.

She denied this initially, saying that injuries sustained in self-defence are 'usually accompanied by stab wounds or deep cuts. These are absent in this case'.

Under persistent questioning, however, she said she could not rule out such a possibility.

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Changes to sex education programmes: Schools not proxy battleground

May 21, 2009

Changes to sex education programmes

Schools not proxy battleground

		Education Minister Ng Eng Hen (left) cautioned that if they do not adhere to this rule strictly, Singapore's students and educational system will end up the losers. --PHOTO: ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE schools will not become the proxy battleground for Christian right and gay interest groups to settle arguments like in the United States.

'We must not go down the way as has happened in the US? Issues will not resolved that way,' said Education Minister Ng Eng Hen on Thursday, at a press conference to announce changes to the sex education programmes in schools.

RELATED LINKS FAQ on schools sex education programmes Excerpts of Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's remarks at press conference on sexuality education on May 21

Stressing a conscious need to keep schools and education institutions here away from contending groups, Dr Ng said this applies both to external agencies, and also to teachers and principals.

'If we do not adhere to this rule strictly, our students and educational system will end up the losers,' he cautioned.

'Our students grow and learn best in an environment where they can develop their own beliefs in an objective manner, with adequate time to reflect on difficult issues, free from the rhetoric and emotional upheavals of contending parties.'

Dr Ng said the sexuality education package for schools was developed carefully by professionals and in consultation with many groups, taking into account the sensitivities Singapore?s multi-religious and multiracial country.

Even then, he conceded that there may be some who still disagree with the approach or contents.

'We respect their rights to decide as parents and to opt-out. But what we must avoid is different groups with competing ideologies using our schools and young as proxy arenas to push their own set of beliefs,' he stressed, citing the recent Association of Women for Action and Research?s (Aware) saga.

Dr Ng said the Aware episode showed clearly how easily contentious issues can inflame supporters and spin out of control.

'This applies to religion, politics, and controversial topics in sexuality education alike. All should recognise that access to students is a privilege which MOE accords, and carries with it responsibilities and accountability,' he added.

'We do have religion-based schools, and they openly teach their beliefs but parents who enrol their children in these schools do so knowingly. Even then, students can opt-out of religious programs.

'We need to preserve and protect the shared space in our schools and educational institutions.'

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28486.178

May 21, 2009

Changes to sex education programme

MOE tightens vetting

By Theresa Tan
		Education Minister Ng Eng Hen (left) announced schools will no longer have the autonomy to hire external groups to teach sexuality education to their students. --PHOTO: ST

SCHOOLS will no longer have the autonomy to hire external groups to teach sexuality education to their students. Instead, the Education Ministry (MOE) will now vet these providers, subject them to a "more stringent" criteria and schools can only use agencies approved by the MOE.

Education Minister Ng Eng Hen announced these changes on Thursday afternoon, after parents complained of the controversial material contained in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) sexuality education programme instructor's guide earlier this month.

RELATED LINKS Excerpts of Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's remarks at press conference on sexuality education on May 21 FAQ on schools sex education programmes

After the flood of complaints, the MOE suspended all sexuality education programmes run by external agencies on May 6.

The ministry told the media then that Aware's programme failed to conform to MOE's guidelines on sexuality education.

"In particular, some suggested responses in the instructor guide are explicit and inappropriate and convey messages which could promote homosexuality or suggest approval of pre-marital sex," the MOE said.

Going forward, the MOE will provide parents with more information on sexuality education programmes taught in school and parents can pull their children out of these programmes if they don't feel comfortable with it.

However, the MOE's core sexuality education programme will continue and Dr Ng explained why. The number of teens down with sexually transmitted diseases jumped from 238 in 2002 to 787 in 2008, HIV among teens is on the rise and some 2,000 teens get pregnant every year.

Dr Ng said: "If you don't give them information, they will get it elsewhere. So schools must be a source of information, giving students a healthy perspective on sexuality education."

Dr Ng also had very strong words for parties involved in the Aware saga.

"Schools were dragged into this melee and could have become the proxy arena for competing ideologies. Issues became muddled, emotions ran high. This is an unhealthy, unproductive way to try to resolve issues that are inherently divisive," he said.

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Why sex education is needed

May 21, 2009

Changes to sex education programme

Why sex education is needed

By Amelia Tan
		The number of teenage pregnancies in Singapore has held steady, averaging about 8.4 per 1,000. --PHOTO: FARHAN SYSTEM

THE rising number of teens infected with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV is the main push behind the Ministry of Education's (MOE) sexuality education programme in schools.

Education Minister Ng Eng Hen on Thursday released data on teens' sexual habits to underscore the need for it and how it has changed, for example, the MOE recently included the use of contraception in the curriculum.

RELATED LINKS FAQ on schools sex education programmes Excerpts of Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's remarks at press conference on sexuality education on May 21

He said the number of teenage pregnancies in Singapore has held steady, averaging about 8.4 per 1,000. This is not as high as in Australia and England where the teenage pregnancy rate is 16.3 per 1000 for 2004 and 41.7 per 1,000 for 2007 respectively.

What is worrying is that the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have jumped 2.5 times from 238 cases in 2002 to 787 in 2008. The number of HIV cases has also gone up from one case in 2002 to nine in 2007.

A survey conducted by the Health Promotion Board and MOE in 2006 showed 8 per cent of 4,000 students aged between 14 and 19 years admitted that they were having sex. And fewer than a quarter of these sexually active youths used any protection.

Dr Ng said in response to these trends, the ministry decided in 2007 that students should know about the repercussions of unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

He added: When we started, the key message was abstinence, reflecting the conservative social tone of our Asian society where liberal values on sex are not espoused. This is not a negative facet of our society. It is not prudish, regressive or naive.'

'But it was clear that abstinence as the only focus was not an effective strategy in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and STIs.

' In 2007, messages were added - beyond knowing how to say no, students were also taught the repercussions of unwanted pregnancies and STIs and HIV and how to prevent them. This is now a key focus of sexuality education, and should continue to be moving forward.'

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Coroner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall: Prof recounts knife attack

May 21, 2009
Coroner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall
Prof recounts knife attack
By Sujin Thomas & Kimberly Spykerman

The professor suffered a cut on the tendon of his right index finger and needed five stitches for the wound on his back. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

NANYANG Technological University (NTU) student David Hartanto Widjaja turned up unexpectedly at his professor's office on March 2 morning, after avoiding him for a week to discuss his final year project.

About the case
# Nanyang Technological University undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, was found dead after falling from a bridge on campus on March 2.

# Mr Widjaja, an Indonesian national, was in his final year at NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
... more
He was supposed to see Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk on Feb 26 morning together with several other final year students but he didn't show up. Prof Chan then moved the meeting to the next morning but this had to be rescheduled to 2pm that day as the professor was engaged with two other students that morning. Widjaja did not come in the afternoon.

Three days later, he walked into Prof Chan's office at 10.25am. What followed was an exchange which ended in Prof Chan, 45, being stabbed and the 21-year-old electrical and electronic engineering undergraduate falling four storeys to his death from a bridge.

Prof Chan who was Widjaja's project supervisor, recounted the moments leading to attack on that fateful morning in his conditional statement when he took the stand on Thursday on Day Two of a coroner's inquiry into the Indonesian student's death fall.

He told a packed courtroom that Widjaja came to his office on March 2 morning, saying he wanted to discuss his final year project. Widjaja then produced a thumb drive, claiming his work was stored in it. Prof Chan had problem running the programme on his computer, which showed nothing. To which, Mr Widjaja insisted that he had indeed done the project.

During the exchange, Prof Chan noticed that Widjaja's voice was turning shaky. Moments later, when his back was turned against Widjaja, he felt several hits on his back. He spun around and saw Widjaja wielding an 18-cm knife coming for him. Prof Chan said he tried to block with his arm and fell to the floor.

He said Widjaja attacked him again but he managed to grab the knife, breaking the blade from the handle. A struggle followed, during which Widjaja fell back and hit a metal filing cabinet in the room.

The professor then tried to run out of the office but was blocked by Widjaja. He managed to push Widjaja aside and ran towards the students' graduation office a few metres away. While being tended to by staff, Prof Chan said it was then that he realised that he had been stabbed in the back by Widjaja.

The professor suffered a cut on the tendon of his right index finger and needed five stitches for the wound on his back. He was given 20 days' medical leave.

Prof Chan said that as he was running away from Widjaja, he glanced back briefly and heard the Indonesian student shouting from the door way that he blamed the professor for the whole incident.

He said he did not know what happened to Widjaja as he was rushed to hospital, and only found out he had died from the news.

The inquiry continues.

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Why Wayang Party is a Piece of Shit

BREAKING: Group claiming to represent “Singaporean citizens and permanent residents concerned with the continuing existence of a secular civil society in Singapore” launched a petition to remove the new Aware exco (or: Why Wayang Party is a Piece of Shit)

From The Informant Network Team

The Aware AGM which saw a new guards gaining control of the organization did not end, precipitating an aggressive counter-strike by the self-proclaimed “concerned with the continuing existence of a secular civil society in Singapore” group to exert pressure on the exco to accede to their demands.

An online petition started by Singaporeans overseas garnered 2,700 signatures in less than two weeks, forcing Aware to stop all activities and hold an EGM.

A smear campaign was launched against the new exco in retaliation for their successful and democratic bid for power to derail their plans for Aware.

The rampant character assassination reached a boiling point when netizens wrote in to DBS to put pressure on Ms Josie Lau's job and made death threats against the new exco, culminating in their filing a police report (read article here)

Undaunted, the group has started a petition - to exert pressure on the new Aware exco quit Aware as soon as possible:





The identity of the petition starter is unknown. However, he/she claims that they are “Singaporeans overseas and at home [who] are very concerned about the take-over of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) on 28 March 2009 by a group of people, whose values are opposed to what AWARE stands for.”

This is the usual astroturfing at play again to create a “fake grassroot” support under the cloak of “progressive contingent” to impose their own liberal values onto mainstream society.

In spite of earlier warnings given by the Government to keep religion and politics separate, and that our laws do not derive from religious authority, but reflect the judgments and decisions of the secular government, these groups continue to sow discord and promote division within our society by pressing on with their agenda.

In spite, too, of earlier warnings given by the Government that we are a Conservative Society which Frowns Upon Homosexuality, these groups are trying to push their Gay and Liberal Agenda on society, and impose their Western Values upon us, which will ultimately lead to the Legalization of Gay Marriage.

Aware should simply ignore the petitions started by anonymous individuals. They are probably circulated amongst the same group of people who are responsible for the earlier petition to repeal 377A.

As we have observed previously, these zealots are extremely tenacious, unreasonable and aggressive. Once a precedent is set, they will take it as a sign of weakness to push the boundaries further.

What next after they are done with Aware? Will they seek to impose their views on other policies such as gay marriage, euthanasia, drugs and men with long hair?

Never before had our peaceful, harmonious and stable society been wrecked by so much tension and discord within a short span of time.

The authorities should nip the problem quickly in the bud before it festers like an ugly sore in our fragile social fabric. These people are not amenable to reasoning and they will not stop until they achieve their aims.

The astroturfing is probably masterminded by a few people in positions of authority. Identify them and their links with one another and the truth will be out.

What are their intentions? Why are they bent to create havoc and unrest in the midst of an economic turmoil? Don’t they have other things to worry about other than homosexual and anal sex?

Aware’s reputation has suffered irreparable damage with the malicious, vile and baseless accusations that it will now pursue an anti-feminist, anti-gay agenda through promoting homosexuality to our school children through its CSE and other activities. It is unbelievable that a NGO which traces its roots to the PAP and has no real power anyway can do much to hurt women or gays.

The new guards should seriously consider suing certain people for criminal defamation to salvage Aware’s battered reputation. It is pointless to reason with people who is only interested in imposing their world views on those who disagree with them.

The government cannot sit idly by allowing these groups to run amok in our country. They are highly motivated, organized and efficient which make them a powerful lobby group in future elections. Will the PAP allow its policies to be held ransom constantly by these liberal zealots?

It is time to break them up before they become uncontrollable. A line has clearly been crossed. Procrastination will only embolden them to go further. A strong message need to be send across that liberalism should be kept solely within the confines of their own respective institutions and our social arena must always be a conservative one.


Original piece of shit:

BREAKING: Group claiming to repKresent “conservative majority” of Singaporeans launched another petition to MOE to remove Aware as sex education provider : The Wayang Party (大戏党)

Commentary:

I may not agree with practically everything the "conservatives" are for, but even a serial killer deserves a fair trial.

Since many of my points will admittedly be hard to grasp, here're most of them:

- Wayang Party has bad grammar
- Wayang Party promiscuously demonises those with opposing views
- Wayang Party flippantly dismisses those with “pro-family” views (yes, these people do exist, and they are non-negligible), raising a cry of astro-turfing which could justifiably be applied to stands they themselves are sympathetic to
- When people accuse and condemn PAP MPs, this is transparency and democracy in action and they shouldn't complain. When people accuse and condemn non-PAP MPs, it's character assassination (I can't point to specific instances, but this is my overall assessment)
- They condemn the government repeatedly, unreservedly and sometimes contradictorily and incoherently. See, for example: Amazing speed at which Rojak seller is charged diverts attention away from role of authorities vs More serious questions to be asked about Mas Selamat’s stunning escape from Singapore; as with Creationism, all is made clear when you understand that they are working backwards from a conclusion (the government sucks/is evil) to come up with a semblance of an argument. This is one reason why I eschew identifying either as "pro-government/PAP" or "anti-government/PAP", since the former are mindlessly pro-government and the latter mindlessly anti-. (See also: the time I got called a "smart ass NUS rubbish pro-PAP scholar")
- The above notwithstanding, they call on it to take action when it suits them to have other people hit with a big stick; "sow discord and promote division within our society by pressing on with their agenda" - that's a great excuse to shut Wayang Party itself down. What's sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander (see also: advocating the use of defamation suits)
- They feverishly fling nonsensical accusations in the hope that at least some of them will stick. For example, what does saying we're a Conservative Society have to do with mixing religion and politics?! See also: the other hysterical hyperbole.

So, in conclusion, Wayang Party is even more shitty than The Online Citizen and you should read it for the same reason you slow down to look at a car crash.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.420

NHG employee's Petition Fake Majority of Singaporeans for Apology

Petition Fake Majority of Singaporeans for Apology

The petition

Brothers and Sisters! Sign this petition by 31 MAY 2009 if you agree that those KNN conservative people (1) owes us Ah Bengs and Ah Lians the real majority of Singaporeans a public apology for any how call themselves majority; and
(2) KNN don't be smart alex and better take full responsibility for misleading other people in the world that they are the majority of Singaporeans;
(3) don't talk cock and if so smart go fully disclose all relevant materials to prove they really majority of Singaporeans

*************************************************

To: The Minister for Home Affairs
Dear Sir

OPEN LETTER TO REQUEST THE MINISTRY TO TELL THOSE PEOPLE DON'T ANY HOW SAY THEY MAJORITY HOR

We saw this petition these siao kias put on the internet har, KNN say they simi conservative majority of Singaporeans! KNNBCCB! If they majority of Singaporeans then what are we? What are my brothers and sisters? Majority my LJ! We are all over Singapore, with brothers and sisters in every HDB flat, every factory, every kopitiam, every bus and every MRT train! If they got balls, come down to Geylang, Chinatown, Toa Payoh, Jurong and Sin Ming and see how many people we have lah!

Calling themselves majority we already damn du lan liao, somemore conservative majority! Wah lao eh! They think now Qing dynasty ah? KNN! They think they still got pigtails ah? Anyhow use the words conservative majority, scali other people thought all Singaporans ku ku one how? They bird brain is it? KNN their English so powderful, cannot find better words, must use conservative! Even my LJ knows conservative means going backwards, not catching up with time, old-fashion, unrealistic and stupid thinking! Singapore is democratic ok, not KNN conservative!

They want to fight with homos go one side and fight lah! Don't any how say they represent the majority of Singaporeans! KNN! We got give them LJ permission to represent us meh? If they so reasonable, people will follow them and sign their CB petition one. No need to talk cock and claim they represent the majority then make people believe they also must join the majority and sign that CB petition blindly!

Minister, I tell you, they bloody talk cock about being the majority of Singaporeans one! If not, ask them to prove lah! Prove that these LJs and CCBs are really majority of Singaporeans! I can bet with you har, scali most of them cannot even speak Singlish! They only know how to kiss ang moh asses and act and slang like them! Majority of Singaporeans their heads! Only people like us who speak Singlish are the majority of Singaporeans! Go stand one side lah!

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
Yours faithfully

cc. The Prime Minister’s Office

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/conservative_to_apologise/index.html

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.26

Degrees for poly grads

May 20, 2009

Degrees for poly grads

A new institute will manage foreign tie-ups to offer courses locally

By Sandra Davie, Senior Writer
		Polytechnic graduates who cannot get into the three universities here usually go abroad to pursue a degree - at great expense - or join the job market. -- ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM

POLYTECHNIC graduates who cannot get into the three universities here usually go abroad to pursue a degree - at great expense - or join the job market.

But from 2011, more of them will be able to obtain degrees here, through tie-ups with reputable foreign universities, as well as by enrolling in Singapore's fourth university.

Leading the charge will be a new Singapore Institute of Applied Technology, set up to plan, manage and implement these joint degree programmes.

Six such programmes here have been running since 2007, with 300 poly graduates pursuing two-year degrees in disciplines ranging from optometry to naval architecture.

The Education Ministry wants this expanded so that by 2015, some 2,000 students yearly will enrol as full-time students and another 1,500 will take up the courses on a part-time basis.

With this, the proportion of poly graduates who will move up the education ladder will rise from the current 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the cohort.

Taking into account those who enrol in university via the A-level route, it means 30 per cent of a Primary One cohort will emerge from the education system with a degree.

The new plans were referred to in President SR Nathan's opening address to Parliament on Monday. Yesterday, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen put the meat on the proposals.

He made it clear that the foreign universities will not be run-of-the-mill schools.

For a start, he announced that the new university, which will start taking in students in 2011, has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from the United States. MIT is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 universities in the world and No. 1 for engineering.

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Singapore's Lesson: Buy High, Sell Low

Singapore's Lesson: Buy High, Sell Low

Written by Our Correspondent
Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Aristocratic lineage isn't a qualification for financial management

Ho Ching's flawed management of the billions of public savings entrusted to her as chief executive of Temasek Holdings has continued until the last. Her successor, Chip Goodyear, formerly with BHP, moved in as CEO-designate in March and formerly takes over in October. But presumably it was Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who took the decision to sell out of its huge Bank of America holding, an investment originally made in Merrill Lynch which was taken over last year to save it from bankruptcy.

Now she has managed to sell out at what, at least on a six month view, looks close to the bottom of the US financial sector. The sale was completed by the end of March so presumably took place in the preceding few weeks. Since then the BoA share price has risen 66 percent.

Temasek's loss on BoA alone is estimated around US$4.6 billion, or roughly US$1,000 for every single Singaporean citizen. Big losses too were sustained on most of the rest of the financial portfolio such as Barclays of the UK and UBS of Switzerland.

Other huge losses were sustained by the even less transparent Government Investment Corporation, which invested Swiss francs 11 billion in UBS in 2007 and added to it in a rights issue in 2008. From US$60 in New York in 2007, UBS shares have slumped to US$13, having been down to US$7. Did GIC also sell UBS when Temasek was selling BoA? Or is its presence in Singapore, where it occupies the former residence of the president, too useful for bringing in business from Myanmar generals and other friends of Singapore?

The desire to get out of Wall Street's black holes was understandable but the exodus seems to have been part of the group's follow-the-crowd mentality. And one wonders if it is not going to repeat itself. Goodyear's claim to fame was increasing BHP's market capitalization from US$12 billion to US$200 billion and a quadrupling its share price in his eight years at the helm. However, most of this was luck – the biggest mineral price boom for 40 years -- plus acquisitions made at increasingly high prices. Goodyear's reputation would be very different if Rio Tinto had accepted BHP's top of the market bid made just after he left office but with his support. Instead Rio's ego maniac chief executive rejected the offer so, having saddled itself with massive debt of its own, now going cap in hand to China.

Will Goodyear push Temasek into resources because he knows about them and Singapore itself has caught the China-growth bug? For sure prices of commodities are down a lot from a year ago. But they also have long cycles.

The latest investment focus of Temasek now, according to an executive quoted by Bloomberg, is "going to be driven more and more by China's economy and consumers so might as well load up more on Chinese banks."

So Temasek is again following fashion, re-focusing on Asia at a time when Asian markets have already recovered a long way while its former western favorites are still languishing. Temasek still seems to think that Chinese banks made a good proxy for its economy and consumers. Just like Southeast Asia in the 1990s, China's economy can grow rapidly, but still leave banks with piles of bad debts flowing from government-directed lending.

For sure, developing Asia looks a better long-term bet than the west, but discovering that today is not exactly evidence of being ahead of the curve.

Quite how badly Temasek has done is hard to figure out because the data presented is scanty and unconsolidated. For example, in 2007-08 the value of its portfolio increased by 13 percent to S$185 billion but it is unsure how much of that was simply a capital injection from the government. There are also black holes like its subsidiary Astrea, which borrowed US$810 million in earlier in the decade to invest in a portfolio of private equity and buyout funds. Another fall for Wall Street fashion which will likely be reflected in pensions for Singaporeans.

Meanwhile Temasek's local portfolio has been persistently trimmed and now represents only 33 percent of assets. Of course it may make more sense to invest in faster growing countries rather than in low growth Singapore where there are few new opportunities for a company which already controls so much. Nevertheless it hard not to conclude that some of these sales, such as the December 2008 sale of PowerSeraya to Malaysia's YTL for S$3.8 billion are not partly designed to generate capital profits readily available from long-held local assets.

Ho appears to have made a career of assuming that smart people with the right degrees and loaded up with mathematical models in one hand and high sounding jargon in the other knew more than anyone else about investment. Thus during the boom years for financial services, Temasek followed the crowd, pushing the financial sector component of its portfolio up to 40 percent, most of it invested in just the high profile western outfits favored by Ho's Wharton-bred advisors..

Like the archetypal senior Singapore bureaucrat, paper qualifications seem to have counted for far more than actual experience running a business. Such businesses as these people run are mostly Singapore public sector ones shielded from the force of free competition. Even Singapore Airlines is beginning to look jaded in an era of low cost carriers pioneered by a Malaysian, Tony Fernandes and AirAsia, and the gradual breakdown of fare cartel.

If nothing else, the record of Temasek gives the lie to notion spread by Singapore's ruling clique that they are the best guardians of the people's savings. Paternalism morphed into an arrogance whose full cost to Singaporeans is for now hidden by the opaque nature of the government's accounts, and the very partial revelations provided by Temasek. Singaporeans, gather your purse-strings and, together, pull.

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