Mothership has kindly summarized this year PM Lee's short NDR speech.
To me I see a PM that is trying really hard to do his job well and discovering after trying his best he could still do better! I give him an A+ for trying.
Others will as usual be writing detailed analyses or critiques of his speech but blogging for myself and family I prefer to record my impressions.
I see a shrinking bottom right quadrant of his Johari Window.
This is a leader who thought he cared for his people but setbacks and adverse feedback which he found very hard to understand eventually helped him realized he could and must care more. He is fortunate to have Tharman to assist him. I could see this deputy's finger prints in so many parts of this evening speech especially on education and pursuing success. I see the outline of a newer and better meritocracy or if I recall correctly, Tharman called it a continuous meritocracy.
Update: Aug 18, 10:05am
I hope he will do what he said because there will be huge obstacles in this path. Tharman was the first to come up with such ideas. If we keep at this over many years, the paper chase will become less intense and more meaningful. Our students in school will refocus and learn to think and acquire practical skills instead of looking good in exams, which is just a deplorable waste of time and resources.
By far nobody has explained that CPF is insufficient for retirement as simply and clearly as he had and in a way that would not create a backlash without weighing the merit of the argument. Two years ago my daughter tried to propose this as her team's topic for their A levels project work. She expended herculean effort to get her team mates to come along but her young and cocky tutor just won't bite. He just hated the idea of spending most of his life working with little prospect of a long and happy retirement. This bright young teacher thought with his heart and lost his brain. How are you going to fund your living if a quarter to a third of your life you are not working? If attitudes like this Gen Y teacher becomes entrenched, we are done for.
Fukushima rice exports to resume
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Japan's federation of agricultural cooperatives, known as JA Zen-Noh, has been negotiating with other countries to start accepting Fukushima rice again. The group succeeded in convincing Singaporean officials of the product's safety.
The initial export of 300 kilograms will be rigorously screened for radioactive materials before shipment. Customers in Singapore will be able to buy the rice starting this Friday.
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http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140818_13.html
Yup. I notice a subtle shift in the govt mindset on paper qualifications. It used to be the bigger your paper or the more paper your career will take off faster. Not anymore hopefully.
ReplyDeleteTime everyone realises all those papers can only worth so much - as the money paid for them. In the end, getting the right work done right??
ReplyDeleteAmazing - from this week Fukushima rice can be sold here with official blessing. Interestingly I have been told the Jap eat their rice now grown overseas (like special dedicated Jap-export farms in Taiwan). with this official blessing, eateries need not worry about using such rice as there is no more penalty imposed. I am sure the cost will be attractive enough as the growers will cut back whatever profit margin to clear their rice stocks and regain credibility and income. It is naive to think that jap rice is more expensive so will still be out of reach. In biz, profit margin goes by hundreds if not thousands of pct, so cutting back some in unloading such will not ruin profitability. But as we all know, faulty products can kill. With no official ban or penalty, the consumer will bear the consequences - of course none, assuming the rice is safe as "rigorously screened"
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