The Systematic Implosion of Lee Kuan Yew's "Intellectual Class"

Hot on the heels of the resignation of the SCDF and CNB chiefs, an online prostitution ring has been reported to be busted, in the process exposing the involvement of a police officer and the principal of a top primary school in Singapore. Singaporean parents have been reported to be "totally disgusted" by the news, and at least one member of the public has been quoted as saying that "these public servants should be sacked on the spot."

Members of the PAP, trying to respond to the fiasco with a semblance of relevance, have been quoted with such platitudes as "civil servants should be expected to uphold the reputation and integrity of the civil service" (Hri Kumar) and "I think [it's] difficult for ... teachers ... to look up to [a person with] moral flaws in his character." (Lim Biow Chuan)

Of course, none of the PAP MPs have the decency (nor the insight) to analyse the fundamental flaws in the scholarship and leadership selection process, and incentive system.

Ex Brigadier General Now CEO of GLC Engineering Subsidiary

Keppel Integrated Engineering Ltd (KIE), the wholly-owned environmental engineering arm of Keppel Corporation Limited, has appointed BG (NS) Tay Lim Heng (郑林兴) as its Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 January 2011.

Prior to joining KIE in June this year (barely 6 months ago), Tay had absolutely zero experience in the field of environmental engineering, which includes Waste-to-Energy (Incineration) engineering and Water/Wastewater engineering. Instead, BG (NS) Tay was the Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of National Development (MND). Prior to that he was the Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and had held various key appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

The construction of Waste-to-Energy plants involves intricate knowledge of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. Meanwhile, the field of water & wastewater engineering requires intricate knowledge of chemical & water engineering. It is challenging enough for engineers to master ONE of those two businesses, let alone both. Witness, for example, Hyflux's single-minded focus on membrane-based water purification technologies.

Yet, amazingly, according to outgoing CEO Michael Chia, Tay Lim Heng has managed to "[adapt] very quickly to the environmental engineering business" and master both fields within a short span of 6 months, something that would normally take others a life time to do.

KIE is indeed privileged to have an esteemed member of Lee Kuan Yew's "intellectual class" as its captain going forward. I personally look forward to seeing what Scholar-General Tay has up his sleeve as he brings KIE into the 21st century.

Darth Zorro Lim Swee Say - Liar Or A Fool?

'When times are good, we work hard together to build up ... social capital, by being one of the most pro-worker nations in the world'

- Minister Lim Swee Say, National Day Message 2010

Not content with leading his storm troopers and clowning about in his Darth Zorro suit to the entertainment of Singapore's nurses and the ire of Singaporean netizens, the NTUC Secretary General has now set his sights on perpetuating the insidious mistruth that Singapore is "one of the most pro-worker nations in the world".

The black-masked member of Lee Kuan Yew's elite "Intellectual Class," who infamously coined the term "cheaper, better, faster" and sang the song "upturn the downturn" (see below), incidentally is paid more than $2 million a year for his costume-bearing antics and pretensions to the Singapore idol crown. Yet, Lim's assertion that Singapore is 'pro-worker' could hardly be further from the truth.

Lee Kuan Yew's "Intellectual Class" will Run Singapore Into the Ground

“We are going to have an intellectual class, about maybe three times as big as what you have now and that will give us the dynamism, the powerful engine to carry us forward faster.” 

- Lee Kuan Yew, 28th July, 2010

Just take a look at Singapore's recent history to see what Lee Kuan Yew's "Intellectual Class" has delivered. Led by none other than his own son, PM Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's "elite intellectuals" have bandied about policies which are slowly eating away at Singapore's social fabric and which are systematically undoing years of hard work and the foundation upon which this country has arisen.

A senseless growth-at-all-costs mentality and narrow minded focus on GDP growth has led to an open-door immigration policy which is testing the limits of this country. Due to the sudden population shock to the system, transportation, healthcare and housing infrastructure is bursting at the seams. Trains are overcrowded and overpacked, and the roads are chock full of cars. Our hospitals are showing capacity strains, with waiting times for hospital beds raising to all time highs, and doctors being overworked and underpaid. Housing price inflation in Singapore is shooting through the roof due to a lack of common sense on the part of of the Government to provide and plan for adequate housing infrastructure to accommodate the influx of foreign migrants. And while the cost of living continues to soar, incomes for most of Singapore society have either stagnated or fallen. Ostensibly, Singaporeans can now never ever retire.