Look Yourself in the Mirror Before You......

.....start criticizing others. Are you being a hypocrite?

I have been following the SGX buy over of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) with great interest. It has become highly politicized. And I was appalled by some of the statements made by some Australians especially by people in high positions in the Australian Government. The nationalistic sentiment is understandable. But of the statements are just double edged swords. They claim that Singapore's capital punishment of hanging those who committed serious crimes is in-humane. I say, its what we call it "Justice".... "An eye for an eye". What have the Australians done to avenge the precious their fellow country men's lives lost in Bali other than protesting that the terrorists be brought to justice.The terrorists are having a holiday in the prisons with probably a ten course meal.

It is because of too much of "Freedom of Speech" that you can't build consensus. It is because of liberal rules that there are a lot of Australians who live on "DOLE". Who pays for it....the hard working Australians which includes millions of of PRs and new citizens from Asia, Middle East, Europe, America and others.

They accuse Singapore of violating Human Rights laws. Look at what White Australians have done to the Aborigines. When I meet them in the streets, I feel sorry for them. They are worst off than some of the poor African- Americans in United States.The "Lost Generation" - children of Aborigines forcibly taken away from their families to work for the whites about 50 years ago....the Australian PM had to apologize for it only recently.

For a bunch of people whose forefathers who were a bunch of prisoners, these guys sit on their high horses and complain about the SGX-ASX merger is laughable. There are many things not right about Australia as well. Australia needs to address those issues. You don't see Singapore telling Australians how to run their lives. And if we did, we do it diplomatically. YES, Australia wants to become a "Financial Hub". I think Singapore is well positioned and experienced enough to assist them achieve that goal.

I love Australia and I like going to there regularly for holidays. I have met a lot of lovely Australians. But for some these highly positioned Australians to accuse Singapore of the above things is just unfair. Singapore has done what it needs to, have law & order so that we all can focus on growing the economy and well being of the nation. A friend of mine joined the Australian Police Force but he quit and came back to Singapore and this is what he had to say....the guys on the Australian Police Force are nice but the Australians by and large do not show respect to the Police. It is sad. In Singapore, people show respect to the Police because we need the Police to do their job so that we can live in peace. We can walk on the streets in the middle of the night and feel relatively safe.I don't think you can say the same about Australia.I value my family's security more than I care about freedom of speech. At least I can go out and enjoy with family without any fear of being mugged.

So the next time you want to accuse someone else of a mistake or crime, think before you speak. Ask yourself, are you being a hypocrite? Others wise, you might look like a fool.....Mel Gibson (the famous Aussie actor now infamous used to be a favorite actor of mine) comes to mind. Nobody wants to be associated with him anymore. His mouth is a "Lethal Weapon"...every time he opens his mouth, he shoots himself in the foot or his backside. Ouch!

No country can have a perfect system or government and you can't please everybody but at least Singapore has become a role-model for many countries around the world.

As for the SGX-ASX merger, I hope it goes through because I see it as "win-win" for both countries.


G'Day Mate!

Mark