Hard for a Nanny Government to stop nannying

There will be more such stories but most of them will not make it to the media. They will be missed for a while and then mostly forgotten. Can't be helped. We have to choose between having them and the foreign workers or losing both.

The government was caught flat footed. It is always a bad idea to have sudden and unplanned changes in policy. People make mistakes.

Business as usual with unrestrained inflow of foreigners will in the end cause us to be in a worse situation. We got to bite the bullet and figure out new ways to achieve growth. The answer does not lie with government and especially the economists who are infamous for thinking inside their box and employing tools that have no semblance to real life. The answer is in our culture. Our can-do and never die spirit.

It is a huge risk but the state must pass some of the responsibilities to the people even when they don't appear to be ready and give them the chance to surprise all of us with their innovativeness. We must also tolerate early failures. They are part of the learning process. It is high time we grow up from living under a nanny state. If not now then when? If later, wouldn't it be harder and riskier? At least we still have enough people who remember how we came about. We also have a rich pool of highly educated and energetic young people who can take the ball and run with it.

Life cannot be planned. People on sure career tracks make bad leaders for us. Let's give serendipity a chance because a planned future in this present world is likely to lead to failure. Truly growing up is always scary. We are not alone, from America, Europe to China and Japan we are all challenged to reform and prove ourselves worthy of tomorrow.

Soon Heng is closed but not finished. Its owners are figuring out how to be reborn. Nobody including them knows what its new shape would be like but it is good that they are not throwing away the pot. I hope their experience is the rule rather than the exception. 

I wished the government would be more positive, but all sticky nannies behave like that when they have to let go of their charges.