My good friend and his family are relocating to Singapore. Our young children who have been best pals for years would surely miss each other playmateship.
My good friend's employer, a Multi-National Corporation (MNC) , is shutting down its Hong Kong operation and moving it to Singapore.
The reason is that Singapore is enticing the MNCs with preferential tax advantage to set up regional headquarter in the Lion City.
My city under the watchful eye of the Lion Rock however has been lukewarm and takes a "couldn't be careless" approach.
According to my friend, his company had apparently approached the relevant Hong Kong authority several times in the past years for comparable treatment.
The response had been negative. There was no attempt to offer anything to reduce or narrow down the attractiveness of the relocation business case.
It maybe true that preferential treatment in a supposedly one of the freest economy in the world is a misnomer.
The truth is our city is losing its once enormous competitive advantage against a determined competitor. Our income per capital is now less than that of Singapore. It won't be long that the gap will be widened.
We can choose to do nothing like what happened to my friend's company's relocation. The inaction, as I learn, would cause lay-off to over hundred of local employees. We soon will have to absorb the economic and social cost of these redundancies. Hundred maybe a small number for our government to show concern but the adverse spill over effect to our economy is greater.
If the same happens (which has been happening for some years) to more MNCs relocating their operation away from Hong Kong, I think the prospect of my children is dimmer at the foot of our beloved Lion Rock.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Why did I Join Toastmasters?
The answer is - I am doing it for my children. They are the ones who inspire me to make the commitment to join the Toastmasters.
The ability to speak, especially the the ability to speak to lead (the Toastmasters' motto), is always a valuable asset in any society.
Great speakers from Abe Lincoln to Winston Churchill, JFK to BHO, are great role models of how words, if said properly, can be so powerful and so contagious.
My objective is very simple - acquire a better speaking technique and create a positive impact on to my two little boys.
Let them grow up with the confidence to deliver public speeches anytime anywhere and do so with ample private thinking.
Note: Winston Churchill once complained that there were too many public speaking but there were too little private thinking.
The ability to speak, especially the the ability to speak to lead (the Toastmasters' motto), is always a valuable asset in any society.
Great speakers from Abe Lincoln to Winston Churchill, JFK to BHO, are great role models of how words, if said properly, can be so powerful and so contagious.
My objective is very simple - acquire a better speaking technique and create a positive impact on to my two little boys.
Let them grow up with the confidence to deliver public speeches anytime anywhere and do so with ample private thinking.
Note: Winston Churchill once complained that there were too many public speaking but there were too little private thinking.
There Are No Strangers
This evening, there are no strangers here because with the mercury today hovering at 27 Celsius, even the ice would have to melt.
I was told that asking or talking about the weather has been one of the most time honored way of starting a conversation, of breaking the ice.
However this technique doesn’t work in the country where I was born. Instead of asking about the weather, my countrymen and women ask if one has eaten the meal.
My home country has only summer all year long. The only difference is the amount of rain falling in a day. That country is Malaysia. I grew up there and my family still live there.
10 years ago I came to Hong Kong on the April Fool Day of 2000 to start a new job. I came here, single, without any relative nor any friend, and the poor me was also broke and heart-broken then, having just ended a long relationship.
So, Hong Kong was this new place for me to start anew, a new harbour for me as if to re-anchor myself.
Luckily! All starts well.
My first few months in Hong Kong were incredible. There were a lot of parties and there were a lot of fun. Guess where did I first put up myself?
It was No. 12 Lan Kwai Fong, just 1 doors away from Club 97.
As they say all good things must come to an end. After 6 months, I take cognizance of myself and call it quit. I moved out of Lan Kwai Fong.
Since then, I have lived in every parts of Hong Kong. You name it. In New Territory; in Kowloon; in outlaying island; and now back in Hong Kong Island where I started.
Hong Kong did turn out to be a very wonderful place to me. It was here that I met a Hong Kong girl who eventually became my wife.
We married after one year of courtship but not without my observing the compulsory Hong Kong ritual, presenting a diamond ring with the knee kneeled down.
If there is any sceptic to this ritual, let me tell you it is all worthwhile.
I am now a proud father of 2 little boys, 3 and 4 respectively and the thing I enjoy doing most these days is walking with them to the kindergarten before heading off to the office.
For me, it was not too long ago that my work denied me all these pleasure. I used to travel a lot, on average 150 days every year for more than 9 years.
I work for a German company in the medical equipment industry. My company offers technology to help surgeon to navigate a surgery and to deliver more precise radiation to treat cancer. Recently I took up a new responsibility with less travel required.
So, you could imagine how happy I am now being able to spend more time and more quality time with my family.
In private, I enjoy reading the non-fiction type of books. Books on history, politics, social-economics are my favorite.
On matter of discretion or some peoples say indiscretion, I drink and I am holding the glass quite well, this is what my Korean firends told me.
Please let me put on record. I am partial to single malt whiskey and if you are likewise, I am happy to share my tiny collection with you.
Dear Friends. As I have told some of you before, it took me 10 years to join the Toastmaster Club. Obviously, you know the reason now. It was Lan Kwai Fong that distracted me and kept me away in those early years.
When I finally joined this club a few weeks ago, my feeling is best described by the Chinese proverb: 浪子回头, or in English - a straying child returning to the fold.
I am really happy to be with you and to be a member of this club. I am looking forward to a great Toastmaster experience and a marvelous friendship with all of you
Before I leave, I would like to share with you an inscription. I saw it on a wooden plague when I was backpacking in my student days, at a small lodge at Ambleside, a scenic Lake District town, in northern England.It says:
“There are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet” – William Butler Yeats.
I was told that asking or talking about the weather has been one of the most time honored way of starting a conversation, of breaking the ice.
However this technique doesn’t work in the country where I was born. Instead of asking about the weather, my countrymen and women ask if one has eaten the meal.
My home country has only summer all year long. The only difference is the amount of rain falling in a day. That country is Malaysia. I grew up there and my family still live there.
10 years ago I came to Hong Kong on the April Fool Day of 2000 to start a new job. I came here, single, without any relative nor any friend, and the poor me was also broke and heart-broken then, having just ended a long relationship.
So, Hong Kong was this new place for me to start anew, a new harbour for me as if to re-anchor myself.
Luckily! All starts well.
My first few months in Hong Kong were incredible. There were a lot of parties and there were a lot of fun. Guess where did I first put up myself?
It was No. 12 Lan Kwai Fong, just 1 doors away from Club 97.
As they say all good things must come to an end. After 6 months, I take cognizance of myself and call it quit. I moved out of Lan Kwai Fong.
Since then, I have lived in every parts of Hong Kong. You name it. In New Territory; in Kowloon; in outlaying island; and now back in Hong Kong Island where I started.
Hong Kong did turn out to be a very wonderful place to me. It was here that I met a Hong Kong girl who eventually became my wife.
We married after one year of courtship but not without my observing the compulsory Hong Kong ritual, presenting a diamond ring with the knee kneeled down.
If there is any sceptic to this ritual, let me tell you it is all worthwhile.
I am now a proud father of 2 little boys, 3 and 4 respectively and the thing I enjoy doing most these days is walking with them to the kindergarten before heading off to the office.
For me, it was not too long ago that my work denied me all these pleasure. I used to travel a lot, on average 150 days every year for more than 9 years.
I work for a German company in the medical equipment industry. My company offers technology to help surgeon to navigate a surgery and to deliver more precise radiation to treat cancer. Recently I took up a new responsibility with less travel required.
So, you could imagine how happy I am now being able to spend more time and more quality time with my family.
In private, I enjoy reading the non-fiction type of books. Books on history, politics, social-economics are my favorite.
On matter of discretion or some peoples say indiscretion, I drink and I am holding the glass quite well, this is what my Korean firends told me.
Please let me put on record. I am partial to single malt whiskey and if you are likewise, I am happy to share my tiny collection with you.
Dear Friends. As I have told some of you before, it took me 10 years to join the Toastmaster Club. Obviously, you know the reason now. It was Lan Kwai Fong that distracted me and kept me away in those early years.
When I finally joined this club a few weeks ago, my feeling is best described by the Chinese proverb: 浪子回头, or in English - a straying child returning to the fold.
I am really happy to be with you and to be a member of this club. I am looking forward to a great Toastmaster experience and a marvelous friendship with all of you
Before I leave, I would like to share with you an inscription. I saw it on a wooden plague when I was backpacking in my student days, at a small lodge at Ambleside, a scenic Lake District town, in northern England.It says:
“There are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet” – William Butler Yeats.
The Spotted Felines
What is feline?
Feline means the biological family of cats ranging from our domesticated cats to tiger and lion.
Yes. I am going to talk about cats, but not any ordinary cats. It is going to be several big cats with spots, the spotted felines.
I am going to focus on 3 species of spotted felines. They are Jaguar, Leopard and Cheetah.
Why did I choose this topic?
It all started with my children and their friends playing with the plastic animal replica. They each claim that a particular spotted feline belongs to one species over the other.
Many times, as I observed even we the adult are embarrassingly caught off-guard without knowing the answer.
Largely we are confused by the likeness of their appearance.
To make sure that we adult won’t be murmuring some confusing answers, please let me share some tips with you on how to distinguish them based on their physical differences, their distinctive skills, and their respective roaming grounds.
I will start with their physical differences in the order of size and appearance.
In term of the differences in physical size, a jaguar is usually larger and of sturdier build than a leopard. A leopard in turn is larger and much more muscular than a cheetah. Cheetah however stands taller than leopards and jaguars, with smaller head and longer tail.
Next in term of the differences in physical appearance, they all look alike as their furs are mainly yellow or tawny with dark spots. However, there is a subtle yet discernable difference among them- that is the pattern of their spots.
The cheetah’s spots are small and solid black, evenly spread; the jaguar and the leopard have rings or clusters of spots called rosette.
The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are polygonal and larger but fewer in numbers. The jaguars’ rosettes have thicker lines with one or two small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks.
In contrast, the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not have central spots as the jaguars do.
Let me now turn to the second aspect – their distinctive skill sets. The jaguars, like the tigers, are exceptionally good swimmers. They love water and often hunt fish, 
frog and turtle.
As for the leopards, they possess an unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass. No wonder they often eat on the tree.
As for the cheetah, they do not climb tree. Cheetah is known to be the fastest land animal. Its top speed could reach 120 km/h. It has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds faster than most sports cars, a Ferrari Enzo that costs HKD 5 million takes 3.4 second.
The third aspect is the question where do they live? There are two elements to this question, one refers to the geography and the other refers to the habitats.
Jaguar is native to the America Continent. The jaguar's present territorial range extends from Mexico across Central America and south to northern Argentine. Regarding the habitat, they prefer the dense rainforest like the Amazon.
Leopards are chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in South Asia, China and Indochina. Its habitat ranges from the rainforest to the desert terrains and even to the snowy mountain range.
As for the Cheetah, they are distributed in sub-Sahara Africa and Northern Iran. The cheetah likes to live in an open grass land with many elevated points to give them a good look-out.
Obviously they all do live in the zoo now.
Let me recap. Jaguar is American. It is bigger in size and stockier in build, very good at swimming, with a small spot in its rosette.
Leopards could be either African or Asian. It has smaller rosettes without the central spot. They are excellent at tree climbing. Together with the jaguars, they both roar, whereas cheetah purrs like our cats.
Cheetah is mostly African. It is the smallest of the three with simple spots on its coat. It is the land fastest splinter. One further very helpful distinction is that the cheetah has "tear-mark" lines that run from the corners of its eyes down the sides of its nose to the edge of its mouth.
Ladies and gentlemen, armed with this knowledge with the children in mind, I am confident that you will soon be their favorite.
Lastly, I would like to share with you some words of wisdom in the context of spotted felines.
You may have heard of black panther. They are actually jaguar or leopard that develops skin condition calls melanism that make them appear black or very dark. They are thus not a different species.
The interesting scientific fact is that their spots are still visible on close examination.
The fact that a black panther doesn’t lose its spot is a useful reminder that there are things in life that cannot change their innate nature. It is appropriate I conclude with the proverb – a leopard cannot change its spots.
Feline means the biological family of cats ranging from our domesticated cats to tiger and lion.
Yes. I am going to talk about cats, but not any ordinary cats. It is going to be several big cats with spots, the spotted felines.
I am going to focus on 3 species of spotted felines. They are Jaguar, Leopard and Cheetah.
Why did I choose this topic?
It all started with my children and their friends playing with the plastic animal replica. They each claim that a particular spotted feline belongs to one species over the other.
Many times, as I observed even we the adult are embarrassingly caught off-guard without knowing the answer.
Largely we are confused by the likeness of their appearance.
To make sure that we adult won’t be murmuring some confusing answers, please let me share some tips with you on how to distinguish them based on their physical differences, their distinctive skills, and their respective roaming grounds.
I will start with their physical differences in the order of size and appearance.
In term of the differences in physical size, a jaguar is usually larger and of sturdier build than a leopard. A leopard in turn is larger and much more muscular than a cheetah. Cheetah however stands taller than leopards and jaguars, with smaller head and longer tail.
Next in term of the differences in physical appearance, they all look alike as their furs are mainly yellow or tawny with dark spots. However, there is a subtle yet discernable difference among them- that is the pattern of their spots.
The cheetah’s spots are small and solid black, evenly spread; the jaguar and the leopard have rings or clusters of spots called rosette.
The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are polygonal and larger but fewer in numbers. The jaguars’ rosettes have thicker lines with one or two small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks.
In contrast, the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not have central spots as the jaguars do.
Let me now turn to the second aspect – their distinctive skill sets. The jaguars, like the tigers, are exceptionally good swimmers. They love water and often hunt fish, 
frog and turtle.As for the leopards, they possess an unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass. No wonder they often eat on the tree.
As for the cheetah, they do not climb tree. Cheetah is known to be the fastest land animal. Its top speed could reach 120 km/h. It has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds faster than most sports cars, a Ferrari Enzo that costs HKD 5 million takes 3.4 second.The third aspect is the question where do they live? There are two elements to this question, one refers to the geography and the other refers to the habitats.
Jaguar is native to the America Continent. The jaguar's present territorial range extends from Mexico across Central America and south to northern Argentine. Regarding the habitat, they prefer the dense rainforest like the Amazon.
Leopards are chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in South Asia, China and Indochina. Its habitat ranges from the rainforest to the desert terrains and even to the snowy mountain range.
As for the Cheetah, they are distributed in sub-Sahara Africa and Northern Iran. The cheetah likes to live in an open grass land with many elevated points to give them a good look-out.
Obviously they all do live in the zoo now.
Let me recap. Jaguar is American. It is bigger in size and stockier in build, very good at swimming, with a small spot in its rosette.
Leopards could be either African or Asian. It has smaller rosettes without the central spot. They are excellent at tree climbing. Together with the jaguars, they both roar, whereas cheetah purrs like our cats.
Cheetah is mostly African. It is the smallest of the three with simple spots on its coat. It is the land fastest splinter. One further very helpful distinction is that the cheetah has "tear-mark" lines that run from the corners of its eyes down the sides of its nose to the edge of its mouth.
Ladies and gentlemen, armed with this knowledge with the children in mind, I am confident that you will soon be their favorite.
Lastly, I would like to share with you some words of wisdom in the context of spotted felines.
You may have heard of black panther. They are actually jaguar or leopard that develops skin condition calls melanism that make them appear black or very dark. They are thus not a different species.
The interesting scientific fact is that their spots are still visible on close examination.
The fact that a black panther doesn’t lose its spot is a useful reminder that there are things in life that cannot change their innate nature. It is appropriate I conclude with the proverb – a leopard cannot change its spots.
Pencil A Smile
Had it occurred to you is it easier to smile or to frown?
A popular Internet adage claims that it takes 43 facial muscles to frown and only 17 to smile. This has always been cited to persuade us to smile more often.
I find this intriguing and I conduct my own research.
The scientific answer according to a renowned plastic surgeon is that smiling takes 12 muscles and frowning surprisingly takes just 11.
I bet this won’t be the reason you start finding smiling is harder to do.
When I told my Thai boxing friend about this, he had this to say.
If someone insults you, don’t even stretch the 11 muscles to frown when it takes only 4 to extend your arm to punch the swine.
This brings me to “Pencil a Smile”.
If you think that there is a grammatical error in the title. I have checked with our grammarian. He has confirmed that the word pencil, besides being a noun for pencil, could also be used as a verb.
The title does sounds like I am going to talk about how to draw a smile with a pencil.
This is simple. Take a pencil.
First, draw a black circle, ideally with a yellow background.
Then, in the upper middle section of the circle, draw 2 oval black dots representing the 2 eyes.
And finally in the lower middle section of the circle, draw a smaller semi-circle, from the 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock ‘positions, representing the mouth.
There you go, pencil a smile.
When do we smile? Why do we smile? We smile when we are happy or because we are amused.
If what I say tickle your funny bone, you are amused and you smile; if your partner gives you a surprise, only a pleasant surprise, you are happy and you smile.
This seems logical enough. What is interesting is that the converse is also true.
Many behavioral studies have consistently shown that the emotion we experience is associated with our own expression.
The more you smile, the happier you are.
The best thing is that the increase in happiness does not drain away the moment we stop smiling. The effects linger on making us feeling more cheerful when interacting with others and also more likely to remember the happy moment.
But, life is not a bed of roses.
What if I am not happy, having just lost a huge investment, a job or worse a loved one? How do I behave like a happy person? How do I force that smile?
Many self-help gurus have suggested the power of positive thinking that is simply pushing the negative thoughts out of the mind.
Unfortunately, research suggests otherwise. Suppression of negative thoughts is far more likely to increase, rather than decrease, misery. The more you attempt to avoid a topic the more obsessed you are with it, the more haunted you are by it.
Another approach proposed by many psychotherapists is to share your pain with someone who is empathetic. This is -”the problem shared is the problem halved approach.
Most of us will find this approach intuitive and many of us may have actually tried this approach.
Ironically, research shows that talking isn’t as effective and we are better off penciling our way out of misery into a smile.
Research actually shows that writing an account of our deepest thoughts or our feeling about an unhappy or depressing or traumatic event is more effective to return us to physically better health and emotionally happier mood.
This sounds bizarre. Why talking isn’t as effective as writing?
The reason is talking can be somewhat unstructured, disorganized and thus confusing. In contrast, writing encourages putting down a structured story line that help people make sense of what has happened and work towards a solution.
Other research has also shown that by writing a note expressing gratitude or affection could significantly enhance our likelihood of smiling and thus our state of happiness.
There you go again, pencil a smile.
What if you are like me neither good at penciling a smile nor writing down the feelings, there is still another way that always guarantees you a smile with a pencil.
Take a pencil with you right now. We shall do the warm up first.
Stretch your mouth like this, moving from the left to the right and repeat it several times.
I introduce this step to prevent you from suing me in case your face suffers a cramp from extended smiling.
Now the crucial step, please open your mouth and then hold the pencil between your teeth.
It is important that your lips do not touch the pencil. Or else, your smile would turn into a frown.
Here you go again, pencil a smile.
You have heard me. By now you should be able to apply the three techniques on pencil a smile: draw a happy face; write out your feelings; hold a pencil between your teeth.
A popular Internet adage claims that it takes 43 facial muscles to frown and only 17 to smile. This has always been cited to persuade us to smile more often.
I find this intriguing and I conduct my own research.
The scientific answer according to a renowned plastic surgeon is that smiling takes 12 muscles and frowning surprisingly takes just 11.
I bet this won’t be the reason you start finding smiling is harder to do.
When I told my Thai boxing friend about this, he had this to say.
If someone insults you, don’t even stretch the 11 muscles to frown when it takes only 4 to extend your arm to punch the swine.
This brings me to “Pencil a Smile”.
If you think that there is a grammatical error in the title. I have checked with our grammarian. He has confirmed that the word pencil, besides being a noun for pencil, could also be used as a verb.
The title does sounds like I am going to talk about how to draw a smile with a pencil.
This is simple. Take a pencil.
First, draw a black circle, ideally with a yellow background.
Then, in the upper middle section of the circle, draw 2 oval black dots representing the 2 eyes.
And finally in the lower middle section of the circle, draw a smaller semi-circle, from the 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock ‘positions, representing the mouth.
There you go, pencil a smile.
When do we smile? Why do we smile? We smile when we are happy or because we are amused.
If what I say tickle your funny bone, you are amused and you smile; if your partner gives you a surprise, only a pleasant surprise, you are happy and you smile.
This seems logical enough. What is interesting is that the converse is also true.
Many behavioral studies have consistently shown that the emotion we experience is associated with our own expression.
The more you smile, the happier you are.
The best thing is that the increase in happiness does not drain away the moment we stop smiling. The effects linger on making us feeling more cheerful when interacting with others and also more likely to remember the happy moment.
But, life is not a bed of roses.
What if I am not happy, having just lost a huge investment, a job or worse a loved one? How do I behave like a happy person? How do I force that smile?
Many self-help gurus have suggested the power of positive thinking that is simply pushing the negative thoughts out of the mind.
Unfortunately, research suggests otherwise. Suppression of negative thoughts is far more likely to increase, rather than decrease, misery. The more you attempt to avoid a topic the more obsessed you are with it, the more haunted you are by it.
Another approach proposed by many psychotherapists is to share your pain with someone who is empathetic. This is -”the problem shared is the problem halved approach.
Most of us will find this approach intuitive and many of us may have actually tried this approach.
Ironically, research shows that talking isn’t as effective and we are better off penciling our way out of misery into a smile.
Research actually shows that writing an account of our deepest thoughts or our feeling about an unhappy or depressing or traumatic event is more effective to return us to physically better health and emotionally happier mood.
This sounds bizarre. Why talking isn’t as effective as writing?
The reason is talking can be somewhat unstructured, disorganized and thus confusing. In contrast, writing encourages putting down a structured story line that help people make sense of what has happened and work towards a solution.
Other research has also shown that by writing a note expressing gratitude or affection could significantly enhance our likelihood of smiling and thus our state of happiness.
There you go again, pencil a smile.
What if you are like me neither good at penciling a smile nor writing down the feelings, there is still another way that always guarantees you a smile with a pencil.
Take a pencil with you right now. We shall do the warm up first.
Stretch your mouth like this, moving from the left to the right and repeat it several times.
I introduce this step to prevent you from suing me in case your face suffers a cramp from extended smiling.
Now the crucial step, please open your mouth and then hold the pencil between your teeth.
It is important that your lips do not touch the pencil. Or else, your smile would turn into a frown.
Here you go again, pencil a smile.
You have heard me. By now you should be able to apply the three techniques on pencil a smile: draw a happy face; write out your feelings; hold a pencil between your teeth.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Thailand: Bullet or Ballot
The root cause of the latest bloody political turmoil stems from the very weakness of the Thai society.
Thailand is so prone to the coup d'etat as a mean to overthrow a popularly mandated government.
This is added with a near-naïve reverence by large section of the society to a monarch for reconciliation when he himself is so frail and according to some commentator is most probably complicit in legitimizing the coup and the latest government.
What makes it worse is the utter lack of respect to democracy by the established interest, the aristocrats and the army.
Whenever a government is backed up by army with strong will to impose brute force against the civilian, it is inevitable to have the bloody carnage. It happened many times in Thai's history.
On Abhist, I feel sorry for him. He has a smiling baby face and it’s difficult to see him as the head of the government that crack down the red shirted protesters. He maybe outmaneuvered, but he has a choice to resign.
Had he chosen this path, his integrity and that of his party can be preserved. By holding on to it, he gains nothing for his nation and his peoples.
If he considers himself being able to solve the conflict without shedding blood, the recent events have proved him wrong. Whatever his credential, I am sure he has lost all of them.
Even if the red shirt is overcome, what is left in him is just a puppet of the real power-to-be.
On the Bangkok streets, confronted with an iron-willed military, the blood is the means and we got to respect the courage of those who defended against the professionally trained soldier who are equipped with the modern weaponry. It is ultimately a test of wills - the will to kill and the will not fearing dead.
Whoever outlast the other wins.
I am sympathetic to the red shirted for sheer reason that the party they supported won the last election.
Hopefully, the Thai soldiers (many are Buddhist) are sensible enough to reflect on Buddha birthday (this Friday) to give up the bullet for ballot.
Thailand is so prone to the coup d'etat as a mean to overthrow a popularly mandated government.
This is added with a near-naïve reverence by large section of the society to a monarch for reconciliation when he himself is so frail and according to some commentator is most probably complicit in legitimizing the coup and the latest government.
What makes it worse is the utter lack of respect to democracy by the established interest, the aristocrats and the army.
Whenever a government is backed up by army with strong will to impose brute force against the civilian, it is inevitable to have the bloody carnage. It happened many times in Thai's history.
On Abhist, I feel sorry for him. He has a smiling baby face and it’s difficult to see him as the head of the government that crack down the red shirted protesters. He maybe outmaneuvered, but he has a choice to resign.
Had he chosen this path, his integrity and that of his party can be preserved. By holding on to it, he gains nothing for his nation and his peoples.
If he considers himself being able to solve the conflict without shedding blood, the recent events have proved him wrong. Whatever his credential, I am sure he has lost all of them.
Even if the red shirt is overcome, what is left in him is just a puppet of the real power-to-be.
On the Bangkok streets, confronted with an iron-willed military, the blood is the means and we got to respect the courage of those who defended against the professionally trained soldier who are equipped with the modern weaponry. It is ultimately a test of wills - the will to kill and the will not fearing dead.
Whoever outlast the other wins.
I am sympathetic to the red shirted for sheer reason that the party they supported won the last election.
Hopefully, the Thai soldiers (many are Buddhist) are sensible enough to reflect on Buddha birthday (this Friday) to give up the bullet for ballot.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thailand and Singapore - Reflecting on Governing Institutions
These are thoughts which I felt deserve to be memorialized.
Firstly, I feel sad for Thailand - for the bloodshed and destruction - but also at how the institutions are unravelling. The monarchy, the army, its democracy, constitution, the entire establishment, in fact, are frayed and are being discredited bit by bit, day by day.
I do not doubt for a moment that Thailand is a wonderful nation as a people or that it can still have a promising future; but one wonders if it will go the way of a chronically failing state like the Philippines or will the current throes will throw up much needed reforms and lead to a new era stability like what Indonesia has just gone through.
The other reason for sadness is that I happen to have met and known some of the people at the helm of the current government. Back in 2003, Asia Inc Forum ran its inaugural ASEAN100 conference in Kuala Lumpur which I helped to put together. Abhisit was one of the key speakers; later I chatted with him a little while and I was impressed by his gentlemanly demeanor and earnest nature. Likewise, his associate Dr Bunaraj was an equally young and positive. Another prominent Democrat is Dr Surin the former Foreign Minister and current Secretary General of ASEAN. They are all smart and serious about public service, all a million light years away from the typical money/power grubbing oligarchs and political wheeler and dealers one sometimes meet in Southeast Asia. Now their reputation and the verdict of history is are in tatters, and I believe the future of the Democratic Party - once the most respected and non-personality based political party - is finished. Their mistake was to be used as a front for the anti-Thaksin forces and eventually being overwhelmed by forces that outside of their control. More likely they were out maneuvered - the irony is that Democrats are traditionally not known for being very effective in the bare-knuckled Thai politics.
But the fact remains that Thailand have had trouble building and sustaining a set of stable governing institutions. The present crisis is both a cause and a symptom of this.
My second thought is about the passing of a giant in the history of Singapore - Dr Goh Keng Swee last week at the age of 91. In terms of contributions to the Singapore miracle, I would consider him the equal to Lee Kuan Yew. In fact, Singapore won't be what it is without him even if history gave Singapore Lee Kuan Yew alone. Well actually, Dr Goh Keng Swee was a Peranakan born in Melaka.
If Lee Kuan Yew was the front man and the political and intellectual force. Dr Goh Keng Swee is the man who created the Singapore "system" by being the man responsible for implementing and executing Singapore's modernisation through the 60s, 70s and 80s. He was the economic and managerial power behind the Singapore miracle.
He was responsible for building Singapore's modern economy, and was instrumental in creating its key institutions of excellence like the EDB, GIC, Temasek etc., established the modern Singapore Armed Forces and architect of the Singapore education system and its support system of merit scholars. Equally important, he was responsible for creating and moulding the corporate culture of the Singapore Civil Service; and personally moulding the careers of countless men and women - those army of plainly dressed, smart, honest, dedicated, hardworking, details-and-results oriented, 'Kiasu" bureaucrats - that populated what many consider the world's best civil service. They were in many ways replicas of the original mandarin, Dr Goh Keng Swee.
Good ideas are nothing without proper execution and no outcome is sustainable without it being institutionalized. And there lies his gift.
He is a great man and I salute his singular accomplishment of having built Southeast Asia's finest institutions for governance. Against the pall of what is happening up North, one can better appreciate that there is nothing about his achievements that was inevitable.
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