Well, I thought this was rather funny. Singaporeans are too paranoid about the government, methinks. Then again my auntie, now retired, was a very senior civil servant. So perhaps she knows better than me.
I've not posted much this month. Come to think of it, I've not been posting much for the past few months. I'd like to be able to say that work has been keeping me busy, but the truth is that work has recently been very slow. On many days this year, I've gone to work and basically twiddled my thumbs all day. There simply hasn't been much to do at work. If the IT guys hadn't blocked access to Blogger from the office server, I'd have written enough posts in the past month to compile a book.
On the positive side, we actually managed to successfully close a few quite sizeable deals last year (the difficult market conditions notwithstanding). Therefore for 2007, I collected the biggest annual bonus (by far) of my life. Wowee. Work-wise, it was also a very interesting year and I learned a lot.
On the negative side, the continuing fallout from the US subprime crisis is hurting many areas of the banking industry quite badly. And mine is one of the most badly-hurt areas. Hence my recent thumb-twiddling. I can't say that this is a surprise. By nature I'm rather prophetic. Luckily for me, clairvoyance is a very useful tool for the formulation of Plan B's.
Anyway, back to my poor little neglected blog. Why haven't I been posting? Well, there have been various reasons. One is that I've been occupied with personal projects. Readers who've been following my blog for some time will know that I have an interest in the mysterious workings of the human mind - and recently I've just been doing a lot more exploration in the areas of meditation and self-hypnosis. Perhaps I'll blog more about this. And perhaps I won't.
The other reason for my lack of posts has, surprise, surprise, got to do with my life audit. Yes, I've taken an extraordinarily long time to get it done, and in fact perhaps I should view it as an ongoing exercise rather than an annual one-off event. A big part of the life audit involves looking at different aspects of my life, and thinking about why I am doing what I am doing; should I go on doing it; and if so, the why's and how's; and are there any other things I should be doing.
As far as this blog is concerned, I've asked myself whether I should go on blogging; or whether my time and energy is better spent on other things; and if I do go on blogging, whether I should continue to write about issues where change is unlikely to occur, due to the pig-headedness of our very well-entrenched government.
Well, for now, the blogging will go on. But don't be surprised if you detect changes in theme and content.
24 comments:
Pl carry on blogging.
M'sian BN now sitting up to address the issue of internet power. I am sure our rulg govt has already wised up to it.
I've asked myself the same thing about my blog during my own life audit: were the rewards worth my continued time and effort?
In the end, I decided rather than end it, I'd be as regular and as irregular as I'd like. After all, I still enjoy both writing and personal development.
For what it's worth, I gleem a lot of useful insights from your blog, and hope you continue with it.
P.S. Love that Gaping Void cartoon too!
you know, you could send your post via email? Blogger has this feature.
We are going through a cycle!
I dare not job-hop...Current job prospect is bleak as the manager ain't seem interested to train me up and further laying the route...My 3rd year in the job and had been doing the same thing over and over again like a robot...
Just wanted say that I've gotten a lot out of reading your posts. It has opened up the way I think and see the world and myself, and I've also taken up meditation, which has been a wonderful change in my life. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has benefitted from your blog. I hope that you will continue to post if you can.
And before I forget, thank you. :)
M
For all it's worth, do continue blogging. Yes, we have many political bloggers in Singapore. Yes we have a great deal of people who will comment on whatever issues crop up. But no, we'll never have another mr wang. One thing I like about your blog is that unlike others, your posts are very thoroughly thought through, very insightful, and are worlds apart from the usual lamenting i see on other people's blogs.
If anything, blogs are the only lifeline for change in Singapore's repressed political environment, and i'm sure many would appreciate your effort. At least i do.
Keep on blogging Mr Wang. I love reading your posts. =) Your blog is one of the first blogs I check when I log on to Internet.
Hope you had a good break away from the blog. =)
This may sound selfish on my part, but please continue blogging for the good of society inspite of the pigheadedness of the powers that be. I may sound naive, but change is sure, but subtle. In this day and age of tightly controlled media, we need an alternative voice to speak in a sensible and objective manner on issues that matter. You may ask, what for?? I think, to build up a people that can think independently. But at the end of the day, it is your choice, but allow me to say that your blog has changed the lives of many. Thank you for what you have done so far. Cheers.
With all due respects, I would say that I love your blogs though I do not agree to everything You have written. However, You are one respectable blogger by virtue of your clean(no expletives/nonsenses) and often righteous contents.
Being a legal and financial professional, You have also much to enlighten us in these said areas. Yo have done us, the people, much favour by delving into the social and political developments in Singapore which affects the populace as a whole.
It is my personal opinion that You have been a neutral and fair man(citizen) thus far. For this, I think You deserve the highest respect. Do continue to contribute to the society to benefit everyone and karma will be accorded to You as You are deserving of it; I thank You!
patriot.
mr wang, pls continue to blog and stand for election in 2011
Wang san, you've been successful in the pursuit of the one thing that matters in Singapore - Economic Relevance (aka Money).
Perhaps you could blog on this topic. It would be certainly be "non-partisan".
I tend to see this as a solution to the quandary that people are in. Much grouse arises because of the perception/reality of being economically challenged - which then leads to a wish that Robin Hood (aka Government) would play a bigger role.
Whadda u think?
yes you're right, your content is getting stale.
So might as well stop while the going's good, and leave us with good memories.
I'm curious, how bad has the banking sector in Singapore been affected by the blossoming crises in the US? As usual, I have read of little of the comings and goings of the situation in Singapore with regard to the potential effects, though I am not surprised if the Govt chooses to keep a lid on it.
Oh, the nature of my work is not particularly Singapore-related. I may be physically located here, but my work involves clients & assets which could be anywhere - eg New York, London, Dubai, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Jakarta, Hong Kong ....
Hope u will continue blogging about issues on singapore, despite quite low hope that things will change. Of course, it's your own choice. Appreciate your blog a lot. Thanks, Mr Wang!
hi mr wang, are you already amongst the ranks of the 2,000+ taxpayers earning more than $1 million a year?
with the reduction in business volume in structured credit, do you think you will get to keep your job?
I think you should stop blogging. Reasons? Simple. You don't have Mr Brown's intelligent wit or Kway Teow Man's clear objectivity.
Your blog serves as a platform for you to grumble about people or systems you perceived to have disadvantaged you. Basically you're no different from those whiny and talkative cabbies who make no sense and grumble incessantly about the government to unfortunate passengers, except that you have internet access.
Because your whinges and grumbles stem from your bitterness in life, your posts do not have the edifying force of other bloggers like Mr Brown, because they come from your subjective and disgruntled standpoint.
Since you are wasting cyberspace, you are better off letting other people with more sense, eloquence, intelligence, humour and objectivity take your place. Afterall readers' time online is limited and finite, and if they don't have to read your uneducational rants, that time would be better committed to a better blogger with actually useful and illuminating points of view eg Mr Brown.
- Always Amazed
Haha, no, I don't earn that much yet, although I hope to, eventually. As for job stability, well, one can't say for sure, but my current employer is not among the worst-hit institutions. (That is another way to say that I don't work for merrill lynch; ubs; or citigroup, LOL).
In the nearer term, what we ARE going to see is a significant number of well-qualified investment banking professionals from europe + US, trying to make their way to asia. these are the career victims of subprime.
Their arrival in large numbers will probably dampen the asian job market for banking professionals.
Mr Wang, sorry to go out of point here.
You know the University fees this year adjust? PR pay 10% more than Singaporeans, foreigners pay 50% more.
I think there is loophole. I think this will make more foreigner take up PR. Do you know what is the policy to allow PR? Is there an age limit? If foreigner get PR at young age, it means they most likely be 1st generation, meaning no need NS.
Is it fair to give PR status to 1st generation PR before University when our boys must complete NS before University so they cannot run away? PR after complete University or in University with subsidy can "run away" by not serving NS. 1st Generation no need serve.
Non 1st Generation PR can run away by transfer to other University before graduate, or just faster run to study Master in other country before immigration catch them. I think immigration may not even update database, but I prefer trust police.
Is immigration now have give PR to this group of very young people? Why no MP ask?
What you think?
well-qualified investment banking professionals from europe + US, trying to make their way to asia.
Mr Wang, if they are so qualified, how did they let the subprime happen?
See, we are going to import trash under dubious qualifications again. Without first asking the banks and employers to hire people among us who are "structurally unemployed". Offering employers the easy way out of hiring foreigners "in the field" but failed in their countries, will just aggrevate the structural unemployment issue in our own country. Then criticise our own people for being choosy. Heh.
The sub-prime happened in Singapore way before it hit the USA. The sub par "talents" just were (are still) proud of themselves to learn from us.
Remember those years when HDB let the banks lend to HDB flat buyers? Fixed 2% interest for x years, then jumping to 5% suddenly after the contracted years?
And we wanna now let these sub par people in. Nice work million dollar talents. Nice work.
To get past the blockage to blogger.com let me introduce you to my friends:
- Dynamic DNS service http://www.no-ip.com
- Windows remote desktop connection
Basically you register at the dynamic DNS site and install a little program to your PC that updates your IP address to the hostname of your choice. Then you can use Windows' remote desktop connection to connect to your home PC at work and do all sorts of stuff.
Personally I use it at work to access certain information which I've left on my PC. But of course there are various other creative uses for it as well.
Can someone go find out about this getting PR before coming to Uni thingy?
I do not think WKS will allow this slip just after Mas Selamat. But he might have been pressured to do it.
If this has happened, then it is some forked tongue to increase the fees difference, but give the foreigners a backlane.
Or is this some scheme to rack up "citizenship numbers", to prove that the FT policy is working when it is not?
Can we just stop pretending and start getting to the real issue and make Singapore REALLY attractive instead?
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