Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Special Deals Rehashed

Baey Yam Keng's muddled "explanation" of how he was charged $2.50 for nasi padang - which was magically repriced to $3.70 at a subsequent visit - is proof the man is a walking PR disaster. The stink he stirred up must smell worse than the bunched-up diaper he came across near the block where he conducts his weekly Meet-the-People sessions. Armed with the used diaper, he reportedly climbed 12 storeys and knocked on doors of 11 units in Block 444 Tampines Street 42, hell bent on nabbing the culprit who dared toss crap in his way. He was not successful. "I think we managed to identify which unit was the culprit. Without concrete evidence, I could only warn the maid not to do so. Hope that will born home the message," wrote the former managing director of Hill & Knowlton. Writing skill, you may note, is not exactly his forte.

But he did succeed in reminding folks about the extra egg Lee Kuan Yew once claimed he deserves in his hawker fare, and how tailors would fall head over heels trying to clothe him. Lee was standing before parliament, defending his bruised public image.

On April 23 1995, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had released a statement confirming they had received "unsolicited" discounts of between 5% and 12% for unlaunched units at Nassim Jade and Scotts 28 condominiums both had purchased. Shortly after, the duo announced they would treat the discounts as unsolicited gifts and "give them to the government".

The Lees' first statement came a day after the condominium developer, Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), was whacked with a stinging rebuke from the Stock Exchange of Singapore. The watchdog SES said HPL had withheld details of discounts granted to a board director, Lee Suan Yew, younger brother of the Senior Minister, and to the wife of another director. The stock authority said that while HPL had not apparently broken any laws, it "was not forthcoming in responding to the Exchange's requests for information." Rules under the SES Manual Listing stated that approval had to be sought for transactions involving "connected persons" of the company involved and those persons' associates. HPL did not seek the permission of its shareholders.

Here's how defiant the elder Lee can be when he demands his due: "There is no way - and I say this with some sympathy for the young aspiring professional or young executives - for them to have the same value to a seller of a product as a well-known public figure or a sports star or a TV star... Let me illustrate in my own small way.  My being me helped me get, if you like, the inside track and special treatment. ..." (Hansard, May 21, 1996, cols 190-91, 196).

Baey's version of "my being me helped" is rephrased "out of respect for my work and service in the community". It is difficult to imagine the respect he garnered while banging on doors with an odoriferous diaper in hand and challenging baby sitters to own up to killer litter. Undeterred by his major fail in social media, he is now moving on to uttering crap in print media. Speaking at the launch of Safe Clubbing Campaign, Baey said there were 13 cases of rioting this year, an increase of 3 from previous.

36 comments:

  1. The appropriately named MP (bay?) will continue with his antics. He appears the have the narcissistic syndrome - what with his selfies,etc. By the way LKY 's attempt to return the "unsolicited gift" failed because the then Attorney-General, Chan Sek Kiong advised to government to return it as it did not belong to the government in law. You can imagine the consequences if it did. Faced with this LKY donated it to charity. The two egg theory of governance is still very much alive in this little red dot.

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    1. He's a shameless attention seeker, behaving like a baeyby. Couldn't nail the baeby sitter for diaper killer litter. After his latest gaffe, now everyone is baeying for his blood. Yah, very appropriately named. Seems like a lot of hanky panky been going. Makes one really tu lan to hear all their special deals, like the $8 heart surgery for instance.

      Hanky Panky:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SlgRSNkWu4

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    2. If this Tampines Baeyby diaper was smart enough from the beginning and “obaeyed” the laws of internet justice coming from the opposite camp, this half ”Baeyked Ham” would be a forgotten entity by now. Many of us are on his ”baeyed” (bed) to poke fun at this “baeycon” for being stupid and out of touch with current food-court prices. He” disobaeyed” his better judgment and came out to fight when he should have apologized. Many of the electorate will remember this “baeyked yam” and one thing is for sure, many will “baeyed” (bade)him farewell as he sets sail out of “Sunset Baey on his way to Bombaey”. Sadly it was his doing to lay on his”death-baeyed”.

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  2. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a
    mistake." – Napoleon Bonaparte

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  3. Verbatim from the Hansard report:

    "All Ministers who carry weight, all Parliamentary Secretaries, all MPs who are popular, you go to a hawker centre. If they give other customers one egg, they will give you two. I know because when I was campaigning in the 1950s before I was Prime Minister, I used to go to Koek Road, the best char kway teow there, other people for 50 cents got one egg. I got two."

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    1. It speaks volume about one's integrity. Further, in many first world countries, it can get one in trouble with the law.

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    2. Supposed you go to char kway teow and tell the hawker "mai hiam" (no chilli) do you think he will give extra chilli just because you are a famous-sort-of-person? And you know others get one egg and you get two, yet you gladly take it and proudly make it known means you have willingly accepted the goods.

      Imagine the Protocol Chief who was caught for claimed purchase of so-called 10,000 pineapple tarts instead of only 2,000. Can he now turn around and say that actually the diplomatic corp wanted to buy only 2000, but he owners of the tart rewarded him with extra 8,000 boxes because of who he is, and all he merely did was to decide encash the extra 8000 boxes that was given to him. Afterall, he was the go-to man for how to do things the 'right way' ? As such, can you now claim there is no evidence that this go-to-man has learned it from his masters?

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  4. Membership has its privileges, ranging from hawker food to directorships. Iron rice bowl.

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  5. Yeah, I am glad you write out my thoughts regarding the extra extra.

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  6. Unfettered access and impunity.

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  7. I think NTUC membership card has discount privileges.
    Can anyone confirm whether the PAP membership card has any discount privileges?

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  8. Inner members can more..,

    Outer members get what bits fall off the table...

    Non-members can nothing but have to feed the inner and outer members...

    Kinda nuts to me..

    Too many of these...humanity future is doomed.

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  9. Correction -

    Inner members GET more..,

    Outer members get what bits fall off the table...

    Non-members GET nothing but have to feed the inner and outer members...

    Kinda nuts to me..

    Too many of these...humanity future is doomed sure as sure.

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  10. Rioting in the clubs? Let me guess. Alcohol must be one of the contributing factors. And they are all very happy people. So where got problem?

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  11. Must be wonderful to have your personal column in the press. A mouthpiece albeit. Now that's unfettered access.

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  12. give $2.50 to your kid and ask them go and buy.

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  13. Frankly in my mind what the hell was the Shit Times trying to do when they see the need to put in print the cost of our million-dollar Ministers having breakfast at hawker centre or coffee shops ?

    If that is indeed the true lifestyle of our humble Ministers, then why do LKY need to tell us that they need to be paid millions in order not to be corrupt ? Wouldn't the hard truth be that they don't even need to be corrupt in other words meaning they do not need to be paid in millions in the first place ?

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  14. Donaldson Tan did a good write-up on the HPL saga at
    http://sgcentral.blogspot.sg/2006/04/hotel-properties-limited-hpl-saga.html
    in 2006.
    All buyers during the pre-launch phase were given 5% discount but LHL was given 12% on his Scotts 28( which had been en-bloced and demolished). LKY was livid that Ong Beng Seng(OBS) had given his son 12% discount without informing LHL about. He demanded OBS to give a press conference to explain why he had given the 12% discount. OBS had to call a press conf. to explain. Can't remember what reason OBS gave but probably had to do with "good marketing strategy". GCT was quite alarmed by the speculative frenzy in the real estate market. He intro a 25% capital gain tax if the property is sold within 3 years and probably also increase stamp duty. These measures remove a lot of the speculation in the market but the next year 1997 in july with the outbreak of the asian crisis, all these measures were repealed.
    It is quite probable that without the HPL saga, LHL would have taken over the prime ministership much earlier maybe in 1998/1999/2000.

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    1. What Lee Kuan Yew told parliament aboout Ong Beng Seng is illuminating:
      Quote
      He is out to bribe. I am an old man, so bribing me, how many years does it have value? He is a young man of 44, that is a valuable person to bribe. He said, "I have got an explanation." I said, "I don't want to hear it."
      Unquote

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  15. This MP is a waste of taxpayers' money. He should have more substantive postings on his FB about national issues, yet he spends time posting selfies and what he had for lunch! Leave such inane stuff to juvenile bloggers and get on with some more weighty commentary please.

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    1. There is little substance in his noggin, so how to post anything heavy. LHL is losing his grip, surrounded by such featherweights as himself, on top of strikes, riots, scandals, loss of votes, a restless public, and what not. Come on 2016.

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    2. I will not be surprised if Tin Pei Ling believes she is not that dumb compared to Baey. LOL
      If not for the GRC system, Baey would never stand a chance in a SMC...does anyone doubt this ? As it is he can only be a wanker and remain a liability to his PAP.

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    3. Tin Pei Ling picks up used tampons, Baey picks up baby diapers. Other than that, there's not much difference between the two GRC freaks.

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    4. Baey should help Tin P L pick up used tampons and P L returns the favour for used condoms. PM Lee should publicly encourage this as part of their kpi.

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    5. "ONE freak election result is all it will take to wipe out Singapore’s success in building up the city state, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew warned last night."

      The freak election result in GE 2011 which returned PAP to power is wiping out our success built up over so many years by hardworking and trusting Singaporeans.

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    6. Our urban heroes, battling sanitary litterbugs!

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    7. sanitary pads, stones, bricks or projectiles..these days, it seems like a lot have been thrown at them hor.

      even a schizophrenic samurai sees it fit to come in and help.

      no wonder, is deport-first-ask-question later.

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  16. Cool, young and beautiful...NOT.

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  17. Code of Prudence #6/7 as spelt out by his boss, learning after his own HPL saga, right after GE2011. Lets rehash for Baey here. If today is Nasi Padang, tomorrow will be a trip to Padang highlands just by being his unsolicited self?

    6. As MPs, you will come across many different sorts of people. Some will be altruistic, public spirited people who will help you without wanting anything in return, spending their time and money to get community projects going and to serve your residents. But a few will cultivate you in order to obtain benefits for themselves or their companies, to gain respectability by association with you, or to get you to influence ministries and statutory boards to make decisions in their favour. Gift hampers on festive occasions, entertainment, and personal favours big and small are just a few of countless social lubricants which such people use to ingratiate themselves to MPs and make you obligated to them.
    7. You must be able to distinguish between these two groups of people, and be shrewd in assessing the motives of those who seek to get close to you. At all times you must be seen to be beyond the influence of gifts or favours.

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  18. I believe LKY once said you can judge a leader by the quality of the people he surrounds himself with.
    I look at LHL's Ministers and Parliamentary MPs.

    I can only shake head and sigh!

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    Replies
    1. But it was LKY who mentored LHL all these years.
      The father has to shoulder the blame even though the son is damn useless. LKY always had the choice of second son or even daughter. Afterall, who will dispute the emperor ?

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  19. Lol...

    You shake head and sign!

    I look up at the heavens and ask...this is the best LKY can provide to support his son?

    A weakling leader surrounded by even more weaker than himself...

    It is really nuts...no wonder many politicians in other countries when encountering the bunch of PAP folks just smile and play them to get benefits for themselves and their own countries...and these weakling papies just fall for it...

    What can i say...except NUTS again!

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  20. If the Nasi Padang stall owner like to give discount and Baey happily accepted it, what's there for us to say? However, this episode provides a good insight into the age-old relationship between businessmen and the people in power (not necessarily politicians, thugs qualify too or political thugs).

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  21. Some surmised that the difference between a certain MP and a bag of shit is the bag.

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