Out Goes The Lecturer

The Star newspapers has reported an article by a Malay language tabloid about a lecturer of a local university who failed 97% of her students for sub-standard work and was subsequently forced to resign when she refused to reverse her decision despite immense pressure from the University. The full article is reproduced below:

"A UNIVERSITI Sains Islam Malaysia lecturer who passed only four out of 157 of her law students claims she was forced to resign so that the university could protect its reputation, Kosmo! reported.

Nor (not her real name) said the reason she left was because she could not stand the pressure from the university management on her to give “sympathy marks.”

“How am I to give extra marks if the marks they got is what they should be getting?” she said, adding that her downfall started when she received a show-cause letter on why so many students had failed.

She was then criticised by her superiors, who also wanted her to add marks based on attendance so as to reduce the number of failures.

“I stood my ground. How could I give them marks for that when it is their responsibility to show up for classes?” she added.

The university declined to comment."

Haha, I am both heartened and disheartened by this report.

I am heartened because it shows that there are still people out there who live by their conscience and principles and just do what is right, regardless. If there are enough of such ethical people around, there is hope for the country.

I am disheartened because it again shows what a scam our local higher education system is. Passing students for sub-standard work is not the way to go. The sub-standard local graduates that we see are evidence that the story is probably true. The Higher Education Ministry is just concerned about the number of graduates the country churns out a year - heck care about academic excellence.

There is a certain mentality among young people here that being a graduate is an achievement by itself. There is no need to ask about the quality of the degree or the marketability of the graduates. A fair number of these graduates end up unemployed or depend on the civil service to absorb them.

We have a long way to go if we want to talk about competing globally. In developed countries, it is not just the degree that matters, but which university the degree is from that is so important in opening doors. Today, Malaysia does not even have a university that is within the world's Top 200, going by the Times (UK) survey. If we do not start looking at this issue seriously, we will always be in the backwater. Is that what we want? Will the Najib administration look into this?

The Other Side Of Lee Kuan Yew

(Above, left): Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo, 1946
(Above, right): Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo, 2006

It is no secret that I greatly admire Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore.

His achievements are many, but there are two personal aspects of him that I admire the most. The first is his integrity. He managed to wipe out corruption in this city-state and that is no mean feat. He himself is squeaky clean. You have to believe that whatever he did, rightly or wrongly as history would judge him, was only for the good of the country.

The second aspect that I admire about him is his devotion to his family, especially his wife. I have read his memoir and have had the privilege of sharing the table with the couple once for lunch when they visited my place of work.

Mr Lee himself has paid tribute to his wife publicly many times.

Recently, their daughter, a neurosurgeon in Singapore, who is 50+ and still single, wrote an article in the Straits Times, entitled "Why I choose to remain single". Her piece was touching. In it, she describes her parents' loving relationship and what it means to be partners in life.

For those who are unable to read the link, an excerpt of the article is reproduced below.

Dr Lee Wei Ling wrote:

"My father said of my mother two weeks ago: 'My wife was...not a traditional wife. She was educated, a professional woman... We had Ah Mahs, reliable, professional, dependable. (My wife) came back every lunchtime to have lunch with the children.'

Actually, my mother was a traditional wife and mother. She was not traditional only in one respect: She was also a professional woman and, for many years, the family's main breadwinner.
One of my mother's proudest possessions is a gold pendant that my father commissioned for her. He had a calligrapher engrave on the pendant the following characters: 'xian qi liang mu' and 'nei xian wai de'.

The first four characters mean virtuous wife and caring mother. The second four mean wise in looking after the family, virtuous in behaviour towards the outside world.

My mother lived her life around my father and, while we were young, around her children. I remember my mother protesting gently once about something my father had asked her to do.

'It is a partnership, dear,' my father urged.

'But it is not an equal partnership,' my mother replied.

The partnership may not have been exactly equal at particular points in time. But over the years, especially after my mother's health deteriorated after she suffered a stroke, my father was the one who took care of her. She clearly indicated she preferred my father's care to that of the doctors', in itself a revelation of the quality of his care.

He remembers her complicated regime of medications. Because she cannot see on the left side of her visual field, he sits on her left during meals. He prompts her to eat the food on the left side of her plate and picks up whatever food her left hand drops on the table.

I have always admired my father for his dedication to Singapore, his determination to do what is right, his courage in standing up to foreigners who try to tell us how to run our country.

But my father was also the eldest son in a typical Peranakan family. He cannot even crack a soft-boiled egg - such things not being expected of men, especially eldest sons, in Peranakan families.

But when my mother's health deteriorated, he readily adjusted his lifestyle to accommodate her, took care of her medications and lived his life around her. I knew how much effort it took him to do all this, and I was surprised that he was able to make the effort."

What a heartwarming story.

SGD 500K for a Prince

The New Creation Church (NCC) in Singapore has declared that it paid one of its staff a salary of SGD 500K last year. The staff in question is widely speculated to be the Senior Pastor Joseph Prince. Unsurprisingly, this sparked outrage among the public, from both Christians and non-Christians alike.

The question is: Is SGD 500K an appropriate pay for a pastor?

Some background here: NCC is a mega-church in Singapore with 22,000 members. Its services are held over 4 sessions on Sunday in an auditorium that can seat more than 5,000 each. The church is not affiliated to any established Christian denomination and its success is attributed to its pastor who is eloquent, photogenic and charismatic. The church congregation is made up of a fairly wealthy crowd - over one Sunday earlier this month, it managed to collect a total of SGD19 million as offering for its building fund.

When questioned by Straits Times reporters, the church's honorary secretary Deacon Matthew Kang said:

"Senior Pastor Prince is the key man responsible for bringing in about 95 per cent of our church's income. I must concede that he has enriched the church and not the other way round."

That's strange. I thought the mission of a church is to spread the gospel and save souls. Should the church even be enriched in a monetary way? It is highly debatable whether the performance measurement for a church should even be based on "income" generation. The total income for the church last year was SGD 55.4 million of which 95% came from tithes and offering.

It also raises disturbing questions on the church's philosophy when it says Prince is the man responsible for its success. If it is a one-man show, it could potentially give rise to a personality cult. Is the congregation worshipping Jesus Christ or Senior Pastor Prince?

The Deacon also says that it is the church's policy "to recognise and reward key contributors to the church..."

I wonder what will happen if the "key contributors" are unhappy with their remuneration. Are they likely to resign and move to another more lucrative church? And the congregation - are they likely to follow where Pastor Prince goes? Is their loyalty to their saviour or to Pastor Prince?

I will not state my view based on the scripture. As a layman, I just need to rely on common sense and my instincts. There is something not quite right here.

I do not expect any church or religious leader to live the lives of paupers - certainly not in affluent Singapore. They deserve a comfortable life. But where do we draw the line?

Let's see. Senior Pastor Prince pay-out works out to be more than SGD 40K a month. He can pretty well live a life of luxury - a condo in district 10, a merc or two, or maybe a couple of beemers at his disposal, dining out every night. I am not saying that this is what he possesses or does - but that's what his monthly salary can afford him to do. Should a pastor even be tempted to live such a lifestyle? If you answer, why not, then the next question is: can a man serve two masters - God and money?

Another leading church, Trinity Christian Centre (TCC) which is fairly large and successful (annual income of SGD 17.4 million) reportedly paid its two top pastors SGD 150K which works out to about SGD 12K a month.

Going by the test of reasonableness, I would say TCC probably got it right. This type of income would enable its pastors to live a fairly comfortable life - not extravagant, mind you - but sufficient for an average lifestyle with a medium-sized japanese car and a small suburban condo unit.

To give Pastor Prince his dues, it has been reported that Pastor Prince has requested for a "no-pay scheme" with the Church in 2006 but this was turned down by the Council. In any case, Pastor Prince has donated his entire salary of SGD 500K back to the church. I guess he does not need the money because he has plenty of royalty from his book deals and fees from other speaking engagements.

Now I wonder why the Council did not accede to his request and insisted on paying him the astronomical salary? Could it be for tax purposes that the church wanted to make the pay-out?

Or by spinning the money around like this, does it make Pastor Prince look like the good guy and philanthropist, when in fact, the money was from the church in the first place?

There is something not quite right here.

What I can say is this, if I ever want to attend a church in Singapore. I would not go near NCC. I am just not comfortable with the whole set-up.

Judging by the sheer number of discussions generated in cyberspace, I don't think NCC is doing great service to the larger Christian population who does not preach the prosperity gospel.

Skin Colour As A Job Criterion

I saw red again yesterday. It was an old issue that resurfaced.

Some time in November last year, the Selangor Chief Minister appointed a 35-year veteran to head the Selangor State Development Corporation, the government-linked group that manages the state's funds for development projects.

The person in question is a capable woman who has retired after serving 35 years within the organization and is well-qualified for the job. At 59 years of age, she was plucked from her retirement to come back to the organization. By all accounts, the woman was a respected figure, both within and outside the organization.

Her appointment raised a fracas within certain groups in the public. Why? Her skin colour was deemed not suitable for the job. Some people insisted that the top job must be held by a Malay. You see, the woman is a Chinese.

I should not be surprised. Come on...., this policy has been in existence for decades. The top jobs are always held by Malays, it is not a level playing field.

But a policy that has been in existent for decades does NOT make it right. And once again, when smacked in the face AGAIN, the injustice of it all makes me choke.

Yesterday, the woman said her final farewell to the organization. Over the past 3 months, she has helped to train a new CEO whose skin colour matched the job criterion. She is rising above...

But I am not. The cry for Equality is a very basic human instinct.

NEP, my foot. After 4 decades of affirmative action, this is all that we have to show? That skin colour remains the most relevant job criterion? When is it ever going to end?

Stop fooling ourselves by calling it affirmative action. It is a racialist policy. That's more polite than calling it a racist policy.

Wanna Be Dad? Sure..

Being a dad, or a mom, is the easiest thing in the world. There is no qualification or eligibility criteria.

In fact, in Britain, a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl have just become parents.

I feel like a fool for making a big deal about what it is like to be a mom, or a dad.

Hey, relax, take it easy. Anyone can do the job.

Perpetual Apathy

If I have to accept things as they are, then give me a lobotomy...

Aarggh....

Don't read the local newspapers.

Don't read the local blogs.

Don't see, don't hear, don't think.

Don't talk, don't discuss.

Just accept...accept... accept.

If you can't change the world, why get upset?

If you can't overcome the system, why get frustrated?

Just accept... accept...accept.

This is the key to happiness,

That's what I've been told.

Accept...accept...accept.

Let Banks Set Rates

The Association of Banks in Malaysia recently announced a reduction in credit card interest rates of between 1.0 - 1.5% to interest rates ranging from 13.5% to 17% per annum. This means that card holders, who have a good credit record, defined as having made minimum payments promptly over 12 consecutive months, would now be paying only 13.5% p.a.

This seems reasonable to me, notwithstanding that Bank Negara's overnight rate is now at 2.5% p.a.

Thus, I do not agree with the call made by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry yesterday to force banks to lower credit card interest rates further. A similar call is made today - not surprisingly - by P Gunasegaram, Managing Editor of the Business Section of The Star, in a comment entitled Credit Card Rates Can Be Lower.

There are three reasons why I am against this move.

Firstly, banks must be free to set their own rates. This is the most basic of free market principles. If the risk-reward equation is not palatable, banks will just tighten credit. And where will that lead us?

Secondly, running a credit card business is not as simple as what Mr Guna makes it out to be. It is not simply a matter of interest plus fees earned minus cost of funds minus default rate and voila! that's the profit margin of the bank. Mr Guna has failed to add in other salient costs including overheads, marketing and promotions and infrastructure cost that is relevant to any business.

Furthermore, in the credit card industry, especially in Malaysia, fraud risk is high and banks need to factor in that cost, including the cost for prevention. Mr Guna has also overlooked the important fact that many credit card holders are actually funded interest-free by banks from the period when the retailers are refunded to the point when the credit card holder actually makes payment, sometimes as long as 45 days later. The banks earn nothing from this group of credit card holders, what with the current competitive landscape which offers free cards and even throws in discount privileges.

Thirdly, further interest rate reduction will simply encourage more spending. Alright, the mantra we constantly hear in the current economic climate is "spend, spend, spend". But I would caution that we still need to spend responsibly. We do not want to entice spending that will lead to excessive debt.

I am all for helping current credit card debtors who are unable to settle their debts. The simple answer is discipline and debt restructuring. There is no easy way out.

Open Your Doors Wider

Fed-up with all the talks about multi-billion dollar stimulus plans from various countries? You are not the only one.

I am not an economist but because I read more than the Average Joe on what's going on with the economy, I feel a bit more frustrated than the Average Joe. The consensus is that nobody really knows what needs to be done. Well, can't say I am surprised. If they had known how complex and interwoven things are, they would not have got all of us into this fine mess in the first place.

So now I refuse to read beyond the headlines when they try to impress us with the size of the stimulus package. By now, I am numbed by the magnitude of the bailout money.

But an article by the award-winning author of The World Is Flat and The Lexus And The Olive Tree, Thomas L. Friedman, caught my eye. Entitled Open-door Bailout, it throws up something different from the common mantra of Spend, Spend, Spend.

Two main points he made to the US government:

1 Leverage on immigration. Hire the best brains in the world, instead of shutting them out.

2 Tap the vast entrepreneurial energy that is the trademark of the US (think Microsoft, Google, Intel) by starting a government-funded venture capital bank.

He writes better than me, so I will leave you to read the actual article. I know it's alway easier said than done but at least, somebody is thinking out of the box.

Unlikely Singapore Will Have Any Octuplets...

The world cheered when it heard of a mother in California giving birth permaturely to a set of octuplets on Jan 26. However, soon enough, when the circumstances leading to the birth leaked, the cheers turned to outrage.

The mother, Nadya Suleman, aged 33, is a single mother who already has 6 children. With these 8 babies added to her brood, she will raise single-handedly 14 children. And note this: all 14 children are borne out of infertility treatments or more commonly known in this part of the world as assisted reproduction.

There have been many questions asked on moral grounds alone. In the latest revelation, Nadya Suleman claims that she loves babies and has so many of them to fulfil her childhood dream and to lift her from depression. Well, I think that this is not a good enough reason. It smacks self-centeredness and immaturity. Did she even think about the lives her children will likely lead? In fact, if I were to go further, I would recommend that she undergo a psychiatric check to make sure she is not of unsound mind. Depression is a clinical disease which could lead to awkward and awful situations.

This single mother has been living on disability payments totalling US$165K over the past 6 years. Okay, she has a rightful claim to the disability payments (due to pain in the lower back that arose from the workplace) but the point is that financially, she will find it a struggle to bring up 14 children. It sure does not seem a responsible decision to voluntarily go for "infertility" treatments under such circumstances.

Nadya's own mother says Nadya is a really nice girl if you get to know her and wonders aloud why the media and the public are hounding her daughter. Well, Mrs Suleman, your daughter may be a nice girl but her actions are outrageous.

The doctors have a role to play in this too... what are they trying to prove?

BUT my main frustration is how the US government could have allowed this to happen.

Because the US believe in non-discrimination (sometimes to ridiculous extremes), in individual rights and in non-interference of personal choices, the US government did not issue firm guidelines on these procedures. Thus, there are few checks on who can undergo such infertility treatments to ensure that the rights of the babies are protected.

In Singapore, the rules are clear. The mother must be married and under 45, consent from the husband is required, and a maximum of 3 embryos can be placed in the woman's womb. In the co-funding arrangement, the government will pay S$3k and the rest will be footed by the individual.

These rules sound fair. There may be some shouts from the singles camp but I would say if you want to have babies, go get married or opt for adoption.

I agree with the rules because it shows a responsible government who, not only makes sure that the state's money is used with good justification, but more importantly, provides a check to ensure that all those who seek to become parents are responsible folks.

The US government should learn the expensive lesson of over-deregulation. We know what happened in the financial markets. The government's hand is still necessary in many areas, not to dogmatically control, but to ensure that the rules are there so that good people can continue to live freely, safely, harmoniously and productively for the good of all. Let Nadya's case be the warning bell.

A New Low

I am totally incensed. And I am not the only one.

The news that the defection of 3 Perak PKR assemblymen has resulted in BN recapturing the state is a new low for politics in Malaysia.

In the first place, it is morally wrong that we give our votes and mandate to a certain person and this person takes it as a trading card to better his own personal position. Party-hopping has no place in the democratic process. In the electoral process, the person who is running as an assemblyman stands on a certain platform if he belongs to a party. The electorate, who votes this assemblyman to be its voice in the state assembly, is also voting in the party.

I would ask the 3 assemblymen who defected whether they would have got any votes if they had run as independents.

Secondly, if the UMNO were to stoop so low as to be in collusion with the assemblymen, two of whom are under a cloud of corruption scandal, how could it ever hope to win the support of the majority of the Malays? Is it not short-sighted to focus on grabbing power in the state? What does it actually mean to the electorate who is bound to cry foul?

UMNO must have more respect for the decency of the Malay community and try to salvage whatever lingering trust the community might still have for the party. This is NOT the way to go. This is NOT the way that BN will win the hearts, minds and soul of the Rakyat. There is always the next election.

Suffice to say, in my humble opinion, UMNO and BN may have won the battle, but it has lost the war.

Calling GOOD people...

First Geithner, now Dashcle. President Obama's nominees for cabinet posts have been tainted with tax evasion and other charges.

Just goes to show... it's not easy to find GOOD people, as in morally good and having good character, and not just good in their work.

If only all our ministers here also go through such inquiries...

Big Boys Do Cry

... and that's ok.

I'm referring to the tears shed by Roger Federer when he lost the 2008 Australian Open to his younger, and now better, rival, Rafael Nadal in the 5-set thriller in sizzling Melbourne yesterday.

I think tears make a stronger man. Firstly, it takes a bold man to show his emotions. Secondly, it shows how much he cared. He played passionately, probably visualizing a final battle that will confirm once and for all whether he has indeed past him peak. And when the results showed that someone else will now take over the throne, it must have been devastatingly heartbreaking.

My respect for him as a player did not diminish one bit with those tears. On the contrary, I will always remember that shadow of sadness across his face when he realised the inevitable.

But cheer up. You will always be remembered as one of the giants in the history of tennis.

Banker Bandits

Not too long ago, bankers were commonly described as boring, stodgy, conservative, unimaginative, tight-fisted.

Today, bankers are seen to be greedy, morally decrepit, too creative for their own good, narcissistic, wasteful.

What happened in between? Dare I say it? Could it be related to the shift in the world's financial center from London to free-wheeling Wall Street?

As a former banker, I do not want to be associated in any way with the morally corrupt CEOs of Wall Street's financial institutions. Give me stodgy anytime.

By now, we are hoarse for crying out loud over the US$18.4 billion bonuses paid in 2008 to these bankers who have brought, not just their banks and the US economy, but the whole world, to its knee. These bank executives, who carelessly took risks without having to put any of their own money on the table, are criminals if they think they still deserve the bonuses, paid by taxpayers money.

As for that famous US$1,405 trash can that was purchased by the former Merrill Lynch CEO for his remodelled office, I would suggest that the US government frame it as a constant reminder of idiotic extravagance.

Recession Is....

... finding 483 vacant carpark lots at noon in Mid-Valley on a Sunday.

Initially, we thought the digital signboard might have malfunctioned (I always wondered how they got the numbers since the carpark lots are not tagged, unlike in Singapore), but the truth bore out when we entered the basement carpark. We got a lot next to the carpark lobby.

Lol, we do not need the economists to give us leading or lagging indicators. Like what my former boss from OCBC used to say, just look out over the Keppel Shipyard from one of the highrise buildings at Shenton Way in Singapore and view the stacks of containers there. During the good times, the place will be stacked high with containers. No prize for guessing how it is nowadays.

Bleak, bleak, bleak....