You Can Fool Some Of The People...

There was once this Cedric fool who suggested that the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) be conducted in the air-con comfort of a SAFRA club house. Exercise is always accompanied by sweat, the natural way humans cool off body heat generated by vigorous physical activity. Every NSmen understands fitness requires strenuous effort, except perhaps for paper generals who make BG rank in 10 years, 6 of which were spent in lecture rooms at Cambridge and the like.

Then there was the fool-me-hah! character who irked everybody by boasting she was made citizen in record time, revealing that the ICA was boosting population numbers as if on steroids. To be fair, brick bats thrown her way involved stories about her husband's discharged bankruptcy status. And there is the new development about a sister-in-law who was thrown out of her house because she was born out of wedlock.  Her husband should really clear the air about these unsubstantiated stories in the rumour mill. The last we want is MPs handing out Mont Blanc pens to advance their promotion prospects.

But Grace is no fool, she has just been promoted to full minister, presumably to replace the first female member of the cabinet kicked out in the Aljunied massacre of GE 2011. Or that someone took note of her great sacrifice for having "experienced a drop in my income" by joining politics. Doubtless, the extra loss of privacy, public scrutiny and loss of personal time will be more than compensated for by the elevation to a higher income bracket.

Her appointment as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Environment and Water Resources doesn't quite fit the PM's objective of the reshuffle, "These changes will help us to serve Singaporeans better."  Surely the beleaguered Lui Tuck Yew could use a helping hand in LTA, with a second minister to work on the road transportation while he tries to straighten out the mess with the trains. Her taking over Lui's hat as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs simply confirms the guy has his work load cut out for him. Surely the urgent issues Singaporeans are looking forward to be served better are public transport, housing, inflation, affordable heath care. Doling out packet meals for aunties to boost rally attendance is required only once in 5 years.

The other foolishness has to be about the obliteration of the Arts and Sports focus. Nominated Member of Parliament Ms Koh speculated that "the role of arts has been subsumed to serve community bonds." The disappointment about sports being relegated lower status was expressed by the President of the Singapore Bowling Federation, "I don't know what are the signals, now that it is parked under a different name." The only one happpy about this development has to be the keechiu general who boasted his $1.33 billion budget for the Sports Hub will not be overrun like the YOG instance. And someone else will have to handle the bid to host the 28th SEA Games in 2015, a real project with a real time line, not some airy fairy performance goal that cannot be measured objectively.