Countdown to 2015!

The clock is ticking away and in less than three hours from now we will have ushered in 2015 in Singapore.

New Zealand and Australia have already heralded the New Year in.

Singapore will have a spectacular countdown at the Marina Bay Sands as 2015 is a special year for the Lion City. January 1, 2015 will see it step into its 50th year as an independent nation.

We will be close to the Marina Bay Sands which is located close to the St Andrew’s Cathedral. We will perhaps hear the sound of fireworks at the stroke of the midnight year, sitting inside the church.

 

G Joslin Vethakumar

Lower Oil Prices, the Only Silver Lining of 2014!

During the last six months of 2014, oil prices kept rolling down to its ebb, effectively showing a 50% tumble by year end, with OPEC rejecting demands to cut production to deal with what the West thought was a crisis.

To me, that was the only silver lining of 2014, an otherwise grim year when:

• religious fanaticism took a fearsome dimension with ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, now simply called IS) going on a rampage, luring militant Muslims from across the world into its ranks. The result: violence and a brutal beheading spree — all in the name of religion.
• terrorism continued to destroy normality, including the Taleban’s attack on a school in Pakistan and a lone wolf holding people hostage in Sydney – both in the last month of the year
• air crashes and sea disasters resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, possibly one of the worst for Asian travel (Air Asia, 2 tragedies involving Malaysian Airlines, for instance)
• Layoffs were rampant and across the board with hundreds of thousands of job losses with no company being an exception, Cisco, IBM, HP, TCS, etc. Layoffs extended beyond the tech sector.
• the Ebola scare started to grip the world
• Russia faced increasing alienation over the Crimean annexation. The Rouble took a mighty fall even as the US dollar and stock markets posted record spikes.
• The Congress was routed in the Indian parliamentary elections, Narendra Modi’s BJP ascended to the throne and talk of a Hindu Rashtra by 2021 emerged.

Wearable Devices Flounder: Technologically, the much-touted wearable contraptions (Google Glass, Smart Watch, etc) did not take off in any big way – thankfully so.

I am not sure about any breakthrough medical advances in 2014 with curative power that could bring cheer for patients beyond palliative care. But Google’s cancer detection pill and glucose-detecting contact lens sound interesting.

• The US and the West thought the falling oil prices would have a catastrophic effect on the economy. I do not buy that logic – when did we see tumbling prices trigger a recession? The US was only trying to protect its own Shale interests in asking OPEC to cut production.

It is worth noting that when oil prices kept soaring in the earlier years OPEC did not raise production.

There can be no deniyng, nonetheless, that the consumer who will stand to gain from lower prices. Is the Western world with the people or with businesses?

Personally, I lost my mother on September 7, 2014!

I would think this was yet another forgettable year the world has seen!

G Joslin Vethakumar

“Fire Locals, Hire Foreigners” Policy Lands Singapore Firm in Trouble

Collusion Among Employers Common

Finally, the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) has acted against a local company for discriminating against Singaporeans in employment. The marine company, Prime Gold International, is reported to have fired Singaporeans and hired foreigners in their place.

Kudos to MoM!

I am surprised, though, that MoM took more than five months to act after the affected employees brought their sacking to its attention.

Protection for Whistleblowers: Not sure if they had found alternative employment in the interim. Given that employers collude with one another, which is common even among competing companies, what protection do whistleblowers have? LinkedIn is one of the platforms enabling an easy collusion to make it difficult for staff to switch jobs.

This is one area where competitors are friends. Enemies are happy to sleep with each other to hound staff. Just a quick check of the profiles of business leaders will show how deep this conspiracy is – all in the name of social networking!.

Prime Gold (I had not heard of them until this morning’s newspapers reported that it has been barred from hiring foreigners for two years) is the only company in the country to have faced such action from the Government.

Lenient Action?: Also, is the action good enough? They have stocked the company with foreigners any way, so a two-year penalty does not sound like a reasonable punishment with the potential to be an effective deterrent.

Will Singapore go soft on drug peddlers? Stringent penalties are in place, including the death penalty, for that because Singapore does not wish to see offenders harm society.

Jobs are the lifeblood of locals, so why be lenient on those who tamper with it?

Established players, including foreign MNCs, are perhaps more cunning and clever in flouting local rules.The Government is perhaps careful in dealing with the aberrations, if any, of the biggies so as not to send a negative image to the market.

G Joslin Vethakumar

A Year-End Air Tragedy

Weather Playing Havoc During Christmas Season of Joy Not Uncommon

A day after Christmas in 2004 Asia plunged into gloom with the loss of more than 200k lives across multiple countries in the region hit by the world’s deadliest tsunami.

Since then the world has been nervously ushering in the Christmas season as weather conditions are generally bad during the period. The last few days Malaysia and Indonesia had been hit by major floods displacing thousands of people from some areas.

Going by media reports, the weather remained turbulent today as well. So, I am shocked that the Air Asia flight (QZ 8501) that went missing earlier today was allowed to take off from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

Turbulent weather is something we always encounter on flights at any time of the year, so it can be too common to warrant a cancellation. But when the weather has been particularly bad the last few days it is a painful thought that Air Asia went ahead with what will have been a two-hour flight.

It is quite another matter that if the flight was delayed or cancelled it could have left its passengers unhappy.

Blame Game Unnecessary: It does not look like the pilots lacked the experience to deal with such situations. So there is no need to rush into a blame game here.

I travelled by Air Asia once a few years ago with family on a flight to Kuala Lumpur. It was a pleasant experience – a new aircraft with good service standards though it was only a one-hour journey. That took the fear of budget air travels away from me, making me try Tiger Airways, Spice and Indigo on a few personal trips.

In fact, Air Asia has been winning the best budget airline award the last few years.

Nonetheless, this incident is bound to put the spotlight on budget travels and crew experience.

My thoughts and prayers are with the 162 people who were on board Air Asia QZ 8501 and their families. May a miracle bring them back!

G Joslin Vethakumar

Artificial intelligence can “surpass human intellect, lead to destruction”

Here is a report that touches on how machine intelligence can be apocalyptic for the universe: http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/23/apocalypse-or-golden-age-what-machine-intelligence-will-do-to-us/

Even astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has warned of the dangers posed by developing human-like intelligence in computer systems.

The message is simple — anything that is effective at doing good is also effective at doing evil. Imagine our fate if machines decide that the world will become a better place if the necks of all human beings are broken.

If you think it sounds far-fetched, read the above report written by Patrick Ehlen, is a cognitive scientist.

– G Joslin Vethakumar

Any Christmas Message / Greeting from Modi?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas messages in The Hindu, The Times of India and The Straits Times

I visited Serangoon Road today with a friend who was on a brief transit here from Mumbai on his way back to Wellington, New Zealand.

I picked up a copy of the Christmas Day edition of The Hindu and The Times of India there. Typically, the front pages feature messages from the Prime Minister / President on such festival days. I found none this time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have tweeted some Christmas message, though I am not certain about it.

I am presenting here snapshots from the newspapers with their Christmas messages. It includes one from The Straits Times of Singapore which includes a greeting from the Prime Minister. And Christmas Day was a closed holiday in Singapore for The Straits Times!

G Joslin Vethakumar

 

Interesting Debate on NDTV Over Minimum Education for Village Leaders

But Education Minister Needs None

Congress spokesman and former Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer brought out an interesting point in a debate that I just got to watch on NDTV. India has an education minister without any meaningful qualifications, he pointed out. The reference was to Mrs Smriti Irani who had lied earlier about being Yale educated.

But, no, Mr Aiyar was not taking any potshot at the BJP leader. He was vehemently opposing the decision of the BJP government in Rajasthan to impose minimum qualifications for candidates contesting the Panchayati Raj elections in the State..

The Panchayati Raj is a system of governance in the country’s villages. It came into force as a form of empowerment for villages to manage their own affairs, through a decentralised form of government in line with what Mahatma Gandhi had advocated.

In fact, Ministers, MPs, MLAs and even the Prime Minister do not need any qualification to hold the positions they gain. So why impose that on people in villages?

Start at the top: I would wholeheartedly support minimum qualifications for those who are expected to get into positions of leadership. But it must start at the top, not from the bottom rungs of governance.

Education has no link with honesty, as one of the panelists argued – something that the BJP spokesman agreed with. But he argued that education has a correlation with the capacity to lead. Interesting then that Union Ministers are not restricted by the lack of any qualification but village leaders are not given that luxury.

G Joslin Vethakumar

My Christmas Wishlist!

• No Conversions
• Focus on promoting Christian values, not propagation / marketing of religion
• Shorter church services

I am no fanatical Christian.  In fact, I often sound like an agnostic, if not an atheist!

Born a Christian, I had all my education in Christian institutions. But my parents were very broadminded in their religious outlook, so I did not get to see myself as a mere Christian.  Many of my best friends are even today non-Christian.

Machiavellian glory: This does not mean, though, that I am a lesser Christian than those who openly profess their faith in all their self-seeking, Machiavellian glory where the end seems to justify the means, where the real spirit of Christmas (reaching out to the needy in the season of giving, spreading love and cheer) is often forsaken or faked amid “spirited” partying and where flirtation is mistaken for fellowship.

• A Christian must be open to criticism and be ready to help fix flaws within the religion.

While this Christmas is not a time for celebration for me and my family, because of the loss of my mother this September, I have some expectations from the church. These are nothing new as since the time I can remember I have wished to see that being embraced by the church. Here they are:

• No Numbers Game: The church must stop caring about boosting its numbers by bringing in people from other religions. Numbers should have no relevance as Christianity is not a business entity.

I have always not taken kindly to conversions just as I have regularly opposed mindless immigration, filling a nation with imported mediocrity in the name of talent, be it in Singapore or anywhere else!

• The same logic will apply to Christianity as well — it does not need people who are best left to where they belong.
• That said, Western democracies where Christianity is dominant have openly embraced religious and racial diversity through immigration. It is quite another matter that there are instances where some sections have plotted to undermine nations and religions that were their hosts.
• Any propagation must only be to spread the message of love, peace and harmony, not with motives that can harm the religion. Why should a religion rely on marketing, just as businesses do?
• The religion was in the past evangelised by meeting the needs of a society — building educational institutions / hospitals and caring for people in need. Those noble goals alone must drive Christianity.

Thought-Provoking Message: Incidentally, I attended the Christmas-eve midnight service at the St Andrew’s Cathedral with family. It was well conducted by Bishop Renish Ponniah with a thought-provoking message to usher in Christmas Day.

He started the sermon by saying “We all like to celebrate the season without seeking to understand the reason”. He also touched on some interesting facts — such as the one that “Christmas was once banned in China but it is all the rage there now, thanks to commercialization.”

The crux of the message was, perhaps, that some soul searching is needed. I have always found the Bishop delivering powerful messages. The last time was on All-Souls Day in November. He did not disappoint me this time as well.

Merry Christmas, may humanity survive and prosper without any religious upmanship!!

G Joslin Vethakumar

Soon it will be Christmas Day!

This is a view from our home with some rain and less traffic on the road for a quiet Christmas Eve!

In a few hours from now, we will head to the St Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore for carols that will be followed by the midnight Christmas service.

Bells will jingle, the silence of the night will be broken and soon it will be Christmas Day! Feliz Navidad!

G Joslin Vethakumar

K Balachander, Tamil Cinema’s One and Only Original Film-maker

The death of Tamil cinema’s Kingmaker and its one and only original film-maker, K Balachander, on Tuesday night in Chennai is certain to leave the industry in mourning for long.

KB, as he was affectionately called, was a master of the medium end to end who relied on only his creativity for the success of his films, most of which had offbeat and complex themes. He didn’t need a Rajnikanth or a Kamalahasan to lend weight to his craft. It was he who groomed them and enabled their success.

Such was his strength that he remained a powerhouse even when Brahmin artistes and filmmakers were being ignored by the Tamil industry. He was a great man who went beyond narrow considerations and gave wholesome praise for those who deserved it, including to Bharathiraja with whom he had a good rapport. The two even acted together in a film.

A celluloid genius, unquestionably so, he deserved much more than the Padma Shri he was decorated with. The Dada Saheb Phalke award he received in 2010 was nonetheless a fitting tribute for him.

Iyakkunar Sigaram (the film director who scaled the peak) K Balachander

He will be remembered for every one of his 150 films or so and not just a handful of them. He made some great films with Nagesh, including Server Sundaram and Ethir Neechal, and a few of my all-time favourites are Aboorva Ragangal (Rare Tunes), the film that launched Rajnikanth with Kamal in the lead role, Aval Oru Thodar Kodhai (She is a continuing story or Her’s is a Continuing Saga), Sindhu Bhairavi, and in fact every one of his creations.  

Even when he turned to the small screen he came up with endearing telefilms such as Rayil Sneham (Train Friendship).

He did not confine himself to Tamil, but made superhits in Telugu as well, including Maro Charitra which he also remade in Hindi with Kamalahasan, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, that marked the actor’s entry into Bollywood.

May his soul rest in peace!

Obit, Tributes and more about him:

http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/obituary-k-balachander/article6719771.ece?ref=relatedNews

http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/filmmaker-k-balachander-passes-away/article6719693.ece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Balachander

G Joslin Vethakumar