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I am a Practitioner of 'The 7e Way of Leaders' where a Leader will Envision, Enable (ASK for TOP D), Empower, Execute, Energize, and Evolve grounded on ETHICS!

Friday, September 25, 2015

Daily Lessons from Life 25 September 2015 - Here we go again?

"Singapore slams Indonesia over haze response as schools shut - AsiaOne 25 September 2015

Foreign Minister and Minister of Laws Shanmugan 'slammed' some Indonesian senior figures with this gem: "How is it possible for senior people in government to issue such statements, without any regard for their people, or ours, and without any embarrassment, or sense of responsibility?" he said.

Shanmugan did not identify the officials, but Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has made waves in recent weeks by repeating comments he made in March that Indonesia's neighbours should be grateful for good air quality most of the year.

"For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us," he said at the time.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post: "There is no national shutdown of work, but employers should not compromise on the health and safety of their employees, especially those working outdoors."

The National Environment Agency said the haze was being blown in by prevailing winds from fires on Sumatra, where smallholders and agricultural companies use burning as a method to clear land for plantations during summer.

Under pressure from its neighbours to stop the annual haze, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has pledged to crack down on companies and individuals behind the burnings."

Here we go AGAIN!! I just DON'T get it!!

Lessons for me are:

1. Minister Shanmugan said recently: 'There is only that much Singapore can do." This is TRUE. There is ONLY THIS MUCH we can do. So, SHUT UP!! OK, it sounds very WEAK. But truly, in a negotiation when some concerned parties are playing HARD BALL, then the ones with the POWER are in CONTROL. In this 'hazy game', Indonesia IS that party with the POWER! So, SHUT UP. Yes?;

2. Alas, this is JUST not right. It is NOT right for one of the richest nations in the world to be 'kowtowing' to a still developing neighbour. So, lets 'research' what POWERS do our Little Red Dot have over our neighbours: a. many rich Indonesians have their money 'parked' in Singapore; b. many of their businesses put their financial transactions through Singapore financial system; c. erh... erh... I think that's all the POWERS we have over our neighbours.

The next question is: are we WILLING to use THOSE POWERS to force our neighbours to take care of 'business'? Who will hurt more? Will someone be in the wing TAKING OVER Singapore's role? Hmm. Maybe we DON'T have the power to use those POWERS after all?

3. That leads me to the 3rd contention: a. should we give VP Kalla too MUCH attention?; b. do we THINK and BELIEVE that MOST Indonesian WILL be PROUD of his comments? Come on. Give the Indonesian people MORE CREDIT than that! So, the 'targeted' rant, IF WE MUST have an avenue to LET OFF STEAM from the hot haze, maybe we can say: "The haze comes once a year and every year for more than a decade. Your President, your boss in case you forgot, ACTUALLY committed to ERADICATE this annual phenomenon in the spirit of Asean. And we are GRATEFUL, just in case you were unaware!"

We NOW formally proclaim OUR THANKFULNESS to you and the millions of Indonesians who are wise, friendly and ecologically aware and responsible.

Next we ask is to help us achieve EVEN MORE happiness and gratefulness towards you and Indonesians to give us ONE MORE MONTH of fresh air before the 'strange annual haze happened'. Can?

For the love of Kalla, Amen!

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