Singapore-born panda Le le

 There has been so immense publicity of the Singapore-born panda Le le in and outside Singapore and now in Sichuan in China that you might mistake it to be some kind of divine angel that is the panacea to mankind. Of course the countries that directly and indirectly enjoy the nebulous universal sensationality of Le le's divine proliferation are China and more importantly Singapore. They make it appear to be like some manna from heaven and to gibe it some semblence of reality it mesmerized a considerable number of Singaporeans and no doubt Chinamen and not unlike a mass hypnotic effect. It is not to deny that Le le is a very cute cuddly panda who Captured the heart of all and sundry here and overseas but there should be some constraint in adulation even God Almighty. 

We now have Senior Minister Teo Chee Hian visiting China as if some kind of diety descending on some up and coming civilisation to give it his divine blessings the way his sojourn has been  propagandised. Who is SM Teo Chee Hian? What ministry does he handle? Is not the post of a senior minister some kind of sinecure? Most of the time he is half invisible and like SM Teo emerges out of the blue and given overweening publicity for some kind of ploy  He gets the obscene pay of a minister which is over a million dollars and  what kind of work he performs as an SM? 

The ministers so-called official visits to foreign countries are usually a junket and if they are;lucky may get some business contracts in return. So is SM Teo Chee Hian's divine visit to give so-called blessing to Le le in Sichuan such an earth-shattering event that it is propagandised as such. It brings to mind whether his visit to Le le is the main reason for his visit to China and if that is the case is the amount of expense necessary for the trip consisting not of only one person from the people's coffers a justified charge? 

I have had brought this up with PM Lee Hsien Loong  from time to time on the question of their venality of pocketing millions of people's money for so-called public service. I and my colleagues fought the communits in the front line at the risk of our lives and we find these people sitting on their fat asses enjoying the luxuries of life at the people's expense while we (I and my colleagues and others) have to subsist on poverty pension. They pocket millions of dollars and when we asked for a small raise to our miserable pension we were told to piss off and die. I invited PM Lee Hsien Loong to have a public discourse but received no reply.

With the present cohort of MPs like Pritam Singh it will take more than a miracle to dislodge the PAP. So what will the foreseeable future present?

PJThum's Nationalism &de-colonisation in Singapore.

 The name PJ Thum may not be strange to readers, maybe not the younger generation.

Following the liquidation of the Communist United Front after 1963 there followed a vacuum of nationalist manifestation.and out of this undercurrent patriotic rejuvenation emerged a  group of powerful crusaders headed by a dynamic commander PJ Thum to seek justice for the deprived and down-troddened in such an all embracing cataclysm that rattled the powers that be to the core.

I first knew PJ Thum as an Oxford undergraduate writing his thesis for a doctorate degree and gave him an interview to enable him to do it. After that I never heard from him until recently when he appeared to present me with his tome the Nationalism an decolonisation in Singapore.I think the book is a whit highbrow in view of the litany of academics who featured in the book but it nevertheless does not detract from the magnificient comprehensive narratve of Singapore's history and security even to the extent of some revolutionary incident quite remote to be remembered.

PJ showed exceptionally remarkable insight into Singapore history, especially on the Chinese students' resistance against national service and the colonial intrigues behind the foundation of Nanyang University which Special Branch had predicted would be a major security problem. As it turned out the Special Branch was spot on when it had to deal with NU students' agitation and rioting inspired by pro-communist elements. Nu had the full support of the Chinese community but lukewarm response from non-Chinese and English-educated Chinese.

I think PJ, like most Western historians, may nor be able to capture the pivotal role of Lim Chin Siong in the anti-colonial struggle efficiently to show His dynamic personality which could have changed the history of Singapore.  The MCP Central Committee issued an October Resolution in 1951 to form a second front to complement its armed struggle and Lim Chin Siong emerged out of the blue to become the undisputed commander of the Communist United Front. He would fit into the most outstanding freedom-fighter with a charisma that mesmerized the Chinese masses. Lee Kuan Yew was simply no match in any electorial contest with Lim Chin Siong. Lee even introduced Lim as the future prime minister of Singapore to his guests at a social gathering. This was where God intervened and it was Special Branch with the imprimatur of Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock who put paid to the political ambition of Lim Chin Siong and his communist allies and prevent Singapore from coming under communist rule.

This PJ narrative is worth the pleasure reading by Singaporeans to just think how near they were to come under a communist regime.