The Monster

The monster in the village,
disguised as a benevolent village head,
disbursing funds,
using money power as tool for control.

Bow and meekly agree,
when the monster asks ever gently.
When it holds a party,
everyone must submit and do as bidded,
whether willing or not.
Everyone is supposed to fall at the feet
of the monster, grateful to be thought of.
All must have whole of village mindset.
Or be an outcast.

Strong leaders we need
to avoid being pulled into the spiral of groupthink,
and be strong enough to say "NO".

Or it'd just be "Yes, Monster" all the time,
even when one's heart says "NO".

The Blacksmith

The blacksmith who shoes the horses,
the horses that go to battle and war.

The blacksmith, ever cheery,
with empty-headed smiles.
He hammers away, as he shoes,
singing the latest pop songs.

An important mission comes up.
The General orders the army of horses be ready.

The blacksmith shoes the horses,
one after another,
singing in his usual empty-headed way.

As the last horse is shoed,
the army almost ready to set off,
the last horseshoe is left.
But it can't be put on,
because there aren't enough nails!

And so the mission failed.
For lack of a horse,
for lack of a horseshoe,
for lack of a nail.
Which the blacksmith didn't anticipate and prepare.

Simple things, so simple, yet so difficult.
Brains, in everyone, yet not in everyone.
Such a pain, working with such blacksmiths.

The cycle of challenges

The pager vibrated incessantly ...
... back then in 2001.
And throughout the year after.
Intense 24/7 work as plots were uncovered
and culprits detained.
Calls from all, local and foreign,
each more urgent than the last.
Memories of an alert on a CNY holiday,
a news release on the same day.
From one high point to another ...
each threshold higher than the last.
Then off to another challenging area to build. ... and another.

A comment from outside about end of an era.
Another (from outside) about being the go-to person ...
Unexpected kind comments.

Now 2015, another major revelation,
thanks to the hard work of strong teams
that have remained steadfast and mostly withstood the test of time.
Deja vu.

An occasional urge to poke one's nose in ...
but it's a different time, a different team
with different preferences and approaches.

One cycle of challenges one has ridden.
Time to leave others to ride theirs.

The True Master

Tis a session when the Master held court,
without arrogantly doing so.
Presentation after presentation,
he listened intently and patiently, in a good natured way.
At the end of each,
he spoke.
Pearls of wisdom, oh so strategic,
in the true meaning of the word.
No grandstanding, no condescending direction.
Good advice and direction, visionary and practical.
Such had been missing all these years,
over at our team.
Care at the latter over the structure called "framework".
The team's changed since then of course, with global vision and all.

The true masters, soon they would phase out.
A loss to those who had been inspired by them,
a loss to the generations who didn't get to work for them.

The Production of Honey

Honey, honey, honey ...
The word is repeated and reiterated over and over again.
Not as a term of endearment,
but as a product to be made.

Manuka honey, they say they want.
And so the team went into overdrive,
assessing how best to get it done,
with cost effectiveness checks and all.

Co-create we must, came the direction.
Co-create honey ... with whom, thought the worker bees.
"Co-create indeed!"  Thought the Queen Bee.
"Ain't I the one producing the honey?" she fumed to herself.

But follow the direction every bee did, the obedient bees they are.
Co-creating dutifully.
When the time came to show their products,
showed they did ...
... with the honey produced by the Queen Bee.

Land of Mirrors

The land of mirrors,
all shapes and sizes, all giving reflections.
Giving the image you want to project,
while the real you lurks behind the mirror.

In the land of mirrors,
the young girls preen and position themselves
before the powers that be.
Preen and position as they climb the ladders,
even when they are old.

The ambitious ones,
pretend to be the angelic ones,
vying for the attention of the powers.
As they gain power, rounder and rounder, they grow.
Further and further they go, for conferences they say.
Their footprints seen in the luxury houses of the world.

Back home, the powers rest, oblivious to falsities,
for flattered they are by shallow compliments, hollow work.
The powers, they bask in the fake compliments,
yet their hands tainted, by silence, equal to endorsement.
... and in downing the institutions.

The Carpet

The Carpet

Strong and uniquely beautiful.

Oh so soft, but unappreciated.

Its understated elegance unseen,

mistaken for washed-out colours.

The Carpet

So resilient, yet so weak.

Its "heart" weakened,

hurt that its nobleness unappreciated.

When will the experts come

and appreciate its beauty?

From Flat to House

Growing up in a two-room flat,
family in one bedroom,
with one living room cum dining room.
Big though they be, by normal standards.
Facing a common corridor,
squealing kids, human traffic along the corridor,
inconsiderate neighbours and their friends
smoking and talking into the night,
right outside our bedroom lourvred windows.

From primary, to secondary, to junior college days.
The first MRT being constructed over the years,
intense noise, dust, right at our door-step.

The old but hallowed halls of Raffles Girls,
and National Junior College, the first JC,
Top schools opened to all, based on merit.

Armed with good university degree,
a good and stable job.
And masters in Ivy League Northwestern University,
that one never thought one visit, much less study in.

Then chance to own a small piece of landed property,
newly built intermediate terrace,  soon after the Gulf War.

From two-room HDB flat
to landed property,
all possible because of good governance,
because of foresight, good planning.
A leap through the socio-economic groups.

Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew!  Thank you!

Fare Thee Well, Our Revered Founding Father

Shade from the trees, flowering shrubs lining the roads.
Clean water, potable straight from the tap.
Electricity that's always on.

From Sir Stamford Raffles' entrepot,
to today's bustling hub and international financial hub.
Buildings, from functional
to internationally award-winning.
Homes to house a nation.

Challenges he threw ...
... clean up the (smelly filthy) Singapore River!
Today, a clean river with water activities we're proud of!

From nothing he built ...
a swamp to today's bustling Jurong, and many more.
From an island doomed to fail
to today's Singapore,
the little red dot that stands strong and tall
on the global stage.

With education for all, including girls,
far-sighted, levelling up the cohorts of children,
winners at international competitions and grading exercises.
With scholarships and bursaries,
generations of young seek knowledge
in the hallowed halls of Cambridge/Oxford/Imperial College,
MIT/Harvard and other such international institutions.
Leaders they return,
climbing up the socio-economic ladder,
improving the lot of their families,
doing good for others and Singapore.

A multi-racial society, multi-religious society.
Faultlines a-plenty.
From the national pledge by Mr Rajaratnam,
to policies taking into consideration minorities,
many safeguards,
all to keep the communal harmony and social resilience.

And many more.
As former Minister George Yeo said,
for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's legacy, look around you.
Yes, indeed.
Look around you, and at yourselves.

Our steadfast beacon is gone.
But he lives ... in the legacy he leaves behind,
and in us, whom he invested all his life.

Rest in peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Thank you.

Words aren't enough to express our gratitude to you and your pioneering team of leaders.
We will continue investing in the legacy,
our common legacy,
for us, and for those after us.
Long live Singapore!  Long live the indomitable spirit of Mr Lee Kuan Yew!

_____________________________________

Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18am. He was 91.

Arrangements for the public to pay respects and for the funeral proceedings will be announced later. 

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
23 MARCH 2015

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/passing-mr-lee-kuan-yew-founding-prime-minister-singapore

Tumultous Weather

After a period of hot, really hot, weather,  it rained.
Very heavily.
Cats and dogs.

Thunder and lightning as well.
Very loud, very fierce.
Bang, bang, bang, it thundered above.
Conjuring images of the gods battling above,
like in the Chinese mythological movies.

Were they arguing and fighting?
Over whether our revered leader should go?
One more year, says one.
No more! Says another.

Is that what happened?