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howgozit
20-10-11, 18:43
Bhutan is not Shangri-La on earth': Khaw


http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/news/10Oct11/images/20111020.153343_bhutan.jpg

AsiaOne
Thursday, Oct 20, 2011

In Parliament on Monday, Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim called on the Government to learn from Bhutan's gross national happiness index and its approach to growth.

Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke in Parliament on Wednesday about his experience in Bhutan and how the small nation has studied Singapore as a country that has transited from Third World to First. He also explained why Bhutan is not a paradise on earth.
Minister Khaw Boon Wan on happiness

Bhutan was mentioned several times in this House. I visited Bhutan a few years ago, and met a good cross section of the people, from the Prime Minister, the ministers, the Chief Monk, to civil servants and ordinary folks. Of course, I am not an expert on Bhutan but the westerners' romanticised version of this ancient Kingdom does not fit the reality of what I saw. Bhutan is not the Shangri-la on earth.

The Chief Monk of Bhutan is a learned man, an enlightened monk and passionate about saving lives in the spiritual sense. He knows Singapore well, visiting us regularly to meet up with his devotees and friends. I asked him what brought him to Singapore on his first trip. He explained that Singapore had cropped up during one meditation session. He was, at that time, planning to build a Buddhist University. He was concerned with negative influences that inevitably would come with globalisation, and felt deeply that the only way out was to imbue his people with traditional values, religious practices and cultural norms. To build his University, he needed money. He conceived a plan to build a big Buddha statue, to draw in paying tourists and visitors and hence funds. The Bhutan Government allocated a good piece of land on a hill overlooking the capital, but said that he would have to raise the funds for construction.

As he meditated on the way forward, he apparently saw glimpses of Singapore, a country he had then not known much of. He took his first flight to Singapore and landed at the Changi Airport at midnight. What followed was quite incredible. He left the departure hall and jumped into the first taxi that came along. The driver asked for his destination. He said "a clean cheap hotel". The driver seemed to know where to send him to and he checked in for a 3-day stay as that was the amount of money he had in his pocket.

The next morning, over breakfast, a group of people sitting next to his table, went up to him and posed some questions on Buddhism. He must have given a good reply and they ended up with a long chat. As it turned out, the owner of the hotel was among this group of people. He offered the monk free hotel accommodation for as long as his visa permitted, and asked him to give dharma talk to a group of devotees who were his friends. That started the series of the monk's subsequent visits to Singapore. In time, the group of devotees grew and many in gratitude supported the Buddha statue project.

My trip to Bhutan was to check out the Buddha statue project. The Chief Monk was gracious and kept me company throughout. We visited several ancient temples, in the city and in the villages. Although a strictly private visit, the Prime Minister who knew of my visit from the Chief Monk, spent some time with me. Over several days, I met up with most of his Ministers, including my counterpart Health Minister at that time.

The Bhutan Ministers know a lot about Singapore. They have studied us very closely. They are keen to port over some of our public policy solutions to Bhutan. The Health Minister himself had spent months training in the Singapore General Hospital and remembered his stint in Singapore most fondly and could rattle off our 3Ms financing framework

My Bhutan visit left some deep impressions.

First, the plight of a tiny nation. How do you make yourself relevant in the harsh world of big nation politics? Or simply making your voice heard? ST's Europe correspondent, Jonathan Eyal, wrote a perceptive piece just today on the plight of small countries, quoting the example of how tiny Slovakia, with a population of 5.5 million, was currently being unfairly treated by their big EU allies. They are being told to contribute to the bailout fund, "to bail out countries which are far richer, and which have only themselves to blame for their current predicament". As Jonathan put it "small countries are supposed to know when to shut up and simply do as they are told".

Second, the hard reality of living next to giant neighbours. I spoke to the Cabinet Secretary to understand their economic structure: what were their revenue sources, how did they make a living? Most of the Government income was aid and handouts from a giant neighbour next door. The second largest income item was sale of hydroelectric power to the neighbour. I asked if they were paid international market rate. From his body language, I gathered that altruism or even fairness did not feature much in Government-to-Government relations.

Third, the challenge of making yourself relevant in a globalised world. Being landlocked between India and China, they know their options are limited. The talented are leaving for opportunities elsewhere. The economic opportunities at home are few. The tradition is for the first son in the family to be a monk and the second son, a civil servant. The rest of the children will just have to fend for themselves, mostly in the farms. Tourism is a possible engine of growth. But they have seen how mass tourism has ruined their neighbouring country environmentally and culturally. They are determined not to go that route.

Fourth, self-determination and self-reliance bring dignity and pride. If survival means pandering to the wishes of others, it is no fun at all, let alone, happiness. This is so at the national level; it is equally true at the personal level.

They have studied us because Singapore is also a tiny nation, living next to big neighbours. We have successfully transited from Third World to First and managed to create a functioning and harmonious society for our people. In their mind, Singapore could well be the Shangri-la and they want Bhutan to emulate Singapore.

Just last month, I hosted a meal for the Chief Monk and the Home Affairs Minister who was visiting. The latter was keen to get some help from our Home Team on security issues. We also spoke about the Royal Wedding and how happy the King was. Indeed, we often spoke about happiness and the foundation for it. I recall an ancient Japanese poem on happiness by Yosa Buson. The full beauty of this haiku has to be appreciated in Japanese. Let me try it in English

What happiness! Crossing this summer river With sandals in my hands
Members must have had such an experience before. Mr Zainudin's residents in Bishan will soon be able to experience it regularly when the Bishan Park's ABC programme is completed. In the Bhutan villages, I saw well-to-do tourists crossing beautiful mountain streams, with expensive Nike shoes in their hands. They were happy. I saw Bhutan children enjoying the river like all children do. They had no sandals in their hands for they could not afford any. But they seemed happy, with angelic innocence, without any worry. I met and heard about foreigners who volunteered in Bhutan: many Singaporean retired teachers bringing IT to the schools, doctors providing immunisation and eye care for the villagers. They were happy as they found meaning in what they were doing, helping others.

But most of time, I saw unhappy people, toiling in the field, worried about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products. The Health Minister asked me to help get ambulances and medicine for their villagers.

The Chief Monk is a sincere man. He sees the onslaught of the Internet and he strives to save the soul of his people, to get them to understand the meaning of life, and how to live it for others. He keeps a close tab on developments here in Singapore. A week before our General Election, he passed a message that "May 7 is an auspicious day, for good people". So all of us here in this House, who won the mandate on May 7, are good people. Congratulations!

It is now incumbent on all of us, to do our best to make the lives of our people better, not through empty rhetoric, sound bites or mindless giveaways. The challenges of a tiny nation are real and huge. We are not a continental economy like the US or China. We live in a troubled and troubling region. Against all odds, we have done well in the last 50 years when we had so little. We should be able to do even better, now that we have much more. The important thing is to stick to the basics and remember the values of hard work, prudence, self-reliance and meritocracy that have brought us here so far.

Our public policies are founded on such values. They are well-intentioned for the good of Singaporeans, both in the current and future generations. They are not perfect, but they are not bad. We do however need to adjust them from time to time, in keeping with changed circumstances and in the light of experience. For example, against the current environment of rising cost, I see the need to make major policy adjustments to help the low and the middle classes cope better with the higher cost of living. But we must be mindful that we do not mindlessly slip down the welfare route which has now plagued Greece and which threatened the rest of Europe and the world.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20111020-306096.html

phantom_opera
20-10-11, 18:48
Khaw should learn meditation from Chief Monk, brilliant idea on how to solve supply/demand housing problem will come automatically ;)

azeoprop
20-10-11, 19:23
I am in china yunnan, dongchuan red earth now... Staying in a farm house enjoying back to basic life hee hee....

devilplate
20-10-11, 19:26
I am in china yunnan, dongchuan red earth now... Staying in a farm house enjoying back to basic life hee hee....
Got mozzies anot?

Allthepies
20-10-11, 19:41
wonder our dear sivia has been to bhutan before or not.if not it is like speaking without knowing wat she is toking abt. she enjoy ploughing the field all day ah : ) looks romantic and fun at first, try doing that for the rest of ur life

rattydrama
20-10-11, 19:54
Khaw took 2 days to write this article..nice one.

azeoprop
20-10-11, 20:12
Got mozzies anot?
Nope. But is freezing here. No heater no hot shower...only beautiful and colorful terrace farms.
:scared-3:

rattydrama
20-10-11, 20:25
Nope. But is freezing here. No heater no hot shower...only beautiful and colorful terrace farms.
:scared-3:

what are u doing there? migrated?

azeoprop
20-10-11, 20:33
what are u doing there? migrated?
Eco-holiday....:scared-4:

howgozit
20-10-11, 20:42
Eco-holiday....:scared-4:

and so to save on heating fuel.... I am guessing you have to keep warm with body heat and close contact physical activity for better heat retention.:ashamed1:

phantom_opera
20-10-11, 21:49
Been to Dali lijiang zhong Dian too nice

wenqing
20-10-11, 23:39
I think Khaw Boon Wan either do not understand English or do not understand Sylvia Lim's great speech.

What Sylvia is implying is that Bhutan included happiness as one of the indexes to determind the country's well being and government KPI and PAP government supported it through the UN but why is PAP not supporting Singaporean's happiness as one of the indexes to determind Singapore Government's KPI ??

Double standards from PAP ??

howgozit
21-10-11, 11:38
I think Khaw Boon Wan either do not understand English or do not understand Sylvia Lim's great speech.

What Sylvia is implying is that Bhutan included happiness as one of the indexes to determind the country's well being and government KPI and PAP government supported it through the UN but why is PAP not supporting Singaporean's happiness as one of the indexes to determind Singapore Government's KPI ??

Double standards from PAP ??


You are reading too much into Sylvia's speech, she was quoting Bhutan from a philosophical perspective. You are bashing PAP for the sake of it.
Haha... looks like no matter what you still have to bash the government.

Truth is KBW's article is well written. It is about marrying idealism with practicality. Happiness cannot be quantified, measured and compared, it is all relative... are you very sure the farmer toiling in the Bhutanese field is happier than you? How..how do you tell?

phantom_opera
21-10-11, 11:51
Disappointed with WP ... what she should say is "how to achieve balance between GDP growth and happiness", citing Bhutan is not suitable

There are so many issues to highlight for example HK government sells inflation protected trust to hk citizens for next few years, why WP never mention? This is very hard to answer for PAP actually as there are no measures to safeguard middle class from onslaught of inflation

It also reflects that Singapore citizens are easy to control, allowing prolonged high inflation is actually robbing the poor. Both Germans/HK citizens are very outspoken about inflation but not Singkas. US TIPS has existed for a long time.

wenqing
21-10-11, 12:35
You are reading too much into Sylvia's speech, she was quoting Bhutan from a philosophical perspective. You are bashing PAP for the sake of it.
Haha... looks like no matter what you still have to bash the government.

Truth is KBW's article is well written. It is about marrying idealism with practicality. Happiness cannot be quantified, measured and compared, it is all relative... are you very sure the farmer toiling in the Bhutanese field is happier than you? How..how do you tell?

Nope, I am not bashing PAP for the sake of it or else I can say the same of you. Supporting PAP for the sake of it.


You also did not catch the gist of Sylvia's speech.

She ask PAP to include Happiness as one of government's KPI and index as well since PAP supported Bhutan's Gross National Happiness initiative.

Sylvia Lim did not imply Bhutan is definitely happier than Singapore.

wenqing
21-10-11, 12:37
Disappointed with WP ... what she should say is "how to achieve balance between GDP growth and happiness", citing Bhutan is not suitable

There are so many issues to highlight for example HK government sells inflation protected trust to hk citizens for next few years, why WP never mention? This is very hard to answer for PAP actually as there are no measures to safeguard middle class from onslaught of inflation

It also reflects that Singapore citizens are easy to control, allowing prolonged high inflation is actually robbing the poor. Both Germans/HK citizens are very outspoken about inflation but not Singkas. US TIPS has existed for a long time.

Catch the gist of her speech.

What Sylvia wants is PAP practise what it supported Bhutan for in Singapore as well.

Bhutan include citizen's happiness as government KPI and PAP supported it. What Sylvia ask is whether PAP should do the same for Singapore government's KPI as well.

howgozit
21-10-11, 16:13
Nope, I am not bashing PAP for the sake of it or else I can say the same of you. Supporting PAP for the sake of it.


You also did not catch the gist of Sylvia's speech.

She ask PAP to include Happiness as one of government's KPI and index as well since PAP supported Bhutan's Gross National Happiness initiative.

Sylvia Lim did not imply Bhutan is definitely happier than Singapore.

Who says I am supporting PAP?:confused:

Problem is people like you (purported supporters of opposition) trash PAP for the sake of it right or wrong. You are giving genuine opposition supporters a bad name.

Regulators
21-10-11, 16:40
Kbw taking things out of context. Sylvia did not say our entire system should be like bhutan, she merely spoke about adopting bhutan's happiness index. Our system also rojak, penal code from india, accounting systems from australia, govt under westminster style so why can't we just incorporate bhutan's happiness index without being concerned about the internal struggles of the country?

ysyap
21-10-11, 16:58
Nope. But is freezing here. No heater no hot shower...only beautiful and colorful terrace farms.
:scared-3:So cold you don't want to bathe... ;)

ysyap
21-10-11, 16:59
and so to save on heating fuel.... I am guessing you have to keep warm with body heat and close contact physical activity for better heat retention.:ashamed1:No need lah... just wear the correct winter wear to trap heat in body... no point wearing layers after layers of shirts which do not trap heat. :D

ysyap
21-10-11, 17:02
Kbw taking things out of context. Sylvia did not say our entire system should be like bhutan, she merely spoke about adopting bhutan's happiness index. Our system also rojak, penal code from india, accounting systems from australia, govt under westminster style so why can't we just incorporate bhutan's happiness index without being concerned about the internal struggles of the country?Agreed. Sometimes our WP takes things out of context when PAP speaks and also our PAP takes things out of context when WP speaks. Remember must have driver and co driver mentality. Both are at front seat so must work together in harmony... Our dear CSM talked about emporor Tai Zong and Wei Zheng and PAP must refute... :doh: Just an analogy lah! No perfect analogy to fit our context de so always take with a pitch of salt lah! :D

Regulators
21-10-11, 17:32
Singapore's success is largely dependent on adopting the good things from other systems around the world for our own use, but that didn't mean we have to be like the country we take an idea from. We took the idea of western democracy and later added some confucius ideas and other stuff to create our own unique blend. Every law that was passed in singapore came from some precedent from various countries (largely england) and we changed a bit here and there to suit our needs. If bhutan has something good we can learn from, why not? To me really wasting time and money if mps arguing out of context or for the sake of arguing in parliament.
Agreed. Sometimes our WP takes things out of context when PAP speaks and also our PAP takes things out of context when WP speaks. Remember must have driver and co driver mentality. Both are at front seat so must work together in harmony... Our dear CSM talked about emporor Tai Zong and Wei Zheng and PAP must refute... :doh: Just an analogy lah! No perfect analogy to fit our context de so always take with a pitch of salt lah! :D

gn108
21-10-11, 17:35
Not to mention our Media also take sound-bites out of context.

ysyap
21-10-11, 17:40
Singapore's success is largely dependent on adopting the good things from other systems around the world for our own use, but that didn't mean we have to be like the country we take an idea from. We took the idea of western democracy and later added some confucius ideas and other stuff to create our own unique blend. Every law that was passed in singapore came from some precedent from various countries (largely england) and we changed a bit here and there to suit our needs. If bhutan has something good we can learn from, why not? To me really wasting time and money if mps arguing out of context or for the sake of arguing in parliament.Indeed its wasting time and money... pay them big cheques to argue things out of context is really :doh:. Like that anyone also can take big pay cheques liao! :cheers1:

land118
21-10-11, 17:49
Chen Show Mao speech is better...

http://www.straitstimes.com/Parliament/Story/STIStory_725286.html

howgozit
21-10-11, 17:52
OK, how about something we all can agree on......

Isn't the Bhutan queen the most beautiful queen ever?

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt2gw22qLy1qaur36o1_r1_250.jpg

I am afraid I can't say the same about the King though. He looks much older than 31, must be those Elvis sideburns. Makes him look like one of those characters in a Taiwanese TV drama serial, one of the bad guys. haha... maybe I am just jealous.:)

gn108
21-10-11, 17:55
Your thumbnail pic of just the Queen is 'out of context'.
She is indeed a Bhutanese stunner...

hopeful
21-10-11, 17:59
the morale of the story, the rich and ugly man gets the chick.

howgozit
21-10-11, 18:13
From this pic you can see the King's happiness index is off the charts. The Queen looks a bit pissed-off though, like maybe somebody just cut into the queue. Perhaps it is just her look, many stunning beauties have this kind of look... cool, distant and aloof. Wonder what her happiness index is....




http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories/royal-wedding-350_101311121319.jpg

Regulators
21-10-11, 18:17
Yet to hear the jia liao bi kate spade bimbo giving her maiden speech. Not sure whether she is paid to keep her mouth shut :doh:
Indeed its wasting time and money... pay them big cheques to argue things out of context is really :doh:. Like that anyone also can take big pay cheques liao! :cheers1:

wenqing
22-10-11, 01:00
Who says I am supporting PAP?:confused:

Problem is people like you (purported supporters of opposition) trash PAP for the sake of it right or wrong. You are giving genuine opposition supporters a bad name.

There is a difference between genuine criticisms of PAP and merely thrashing PAP.

In this case, I am highlighting a fact Khaw Boon Wan did indeed did not understand Sylvia's speech before whacking WP.

You should tell your logic to Khaw Boon Wan and PAP instead. PAP is thrashing WP just for the sake of it in Parliament.

Please do not anyhow label me without fine tuning your understanding of English.

ysyap
22-10-11, 07:14
Its indeed very sad that the last 5 days of parliament is saturated with such out of context 'bashing' which is senseless. Can we move on? Adults behaving like kids. Other countries are laughing at us already lah... Tell WP to stop using analogy in their speeches and tell PAP to stop picking non issues from WP's speeches! Very embarrasing! :doh:

howgozit
22-10-11, 08:24
There is a difference between genuine criticisms of PAP and merely thrashing PAP.

In this case, I am highlighting a fact Khaw Boon Wan did indeed did not understand Sylvia's speech before whacking WP.

You should tell your logic to Khaw Boon Wan and PAP instead. PAP is thrashing WP just for the sake of it in Parliament.

Please do not anyhow label me without fine tuning your understanding of English.


Eh... I thought we've moved on already?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-enEF2mvk4Hk/Tb5ZrdpDVbI/AAAAAAAABjg/ypi4fhhwL4o/s320/20110502_01.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-enEF2mvk4Hk/Tb5ZrdpDVbI/AAAAAAAABjg/ypi4fhhwL4o/s1600/20110502_01.jpg)

land118
22-10-11, 08:53
Its indeed very sad that the last 5 days of parliament is saturated with such out of context 'bashing' which is senseless. Can we move on? Adults behaving like kids. Other countries are laughing at us already lah... Tell WP to stop using analogy in their speeches and tell PAP to stop picking non issues from WP's speeches! Very embarrasing! :doh:
Been away last week, just browse thru some news now and then, seem nothing much or impactful so far from Parliament sessions......, KBW only concern about HDB for 1st timer and guess this is his strategy for his term...

Regulators
22-10-11, 11:10
it is not the govt's job to help the younger generation first timers make money from hdb flats. I hate it that during our younger days, we had to slog hard earning a low wage to buy our first flat without help from parents or govt and youngsters these days are demanding this and that from the govt like the govt owes them a living. They want to buy hdb flats low so they can sell it high and upgrade to condo. When it is time for them to buy condo, they will cry out to the govt that pte pty prices too high and measures should be in place to bring prices down :doh: .. Youngsters are just greedy these days and always looking for quick fix solutions in life...haiz

phantom_opera
22-10-11, 11:56
it is not the govt's job to help the younger generation first timers make money from hdb flats. I hate it that during our younger days, we had to slog hard earning a low wage to buy our first flat without help from parents or govt and youngsters these days are demanding this and that from the govt like the govt owes them a living. They want to buy hdb flats low so they can sell it high and upgrade to condo. When it is time for them to buy condo, they will cry out to the govt that pte pty prices too high and measures should be in place to bring prices down :doh: .. Youngsters are just greedy these days and always looking for quick fix solutions in life...haiz

P@Duxton set the bad example, story of lucky owners made the headlines and then Dawson ... story about them making tonnes of easy $$$, million dollar HDB. After this, 1st timers getting super-choosy.

Regulators
22-10-11, 14:12
A lot of these first timers feel hdb was started just for them. They want near mrt, high floor, near town and cheap but dont want to fork out premium.
P@Duxton set the bad example, story of lucky owners made the headlines and then Dawson ... story about them making tonnes of easy $$$, million dollar HDB. After this, 1st timers getting super-choosy.

Allthepies
22-10-11, 15:09
it is not the govt's job to help the younger generation first timers make money from hdb flats. I hate it that during our younger days, we had to! slog hard earning a low wage to buy our first flat without help from parents or govt and youngsters these days are demanding this and that from the govt like the govt owes them a living. They want to buy hdb flats low so they can sell it high and upgrade to condo. When it is time for them to buy condo, they will cry out to the govt that pte pty prices too high and measures should be in place to bring prices down :doh: .. Youngsters are just greedy these days and always looking for quick fix solutions in life...haiz
completely agree with u. i think the prob now is that only this youngster group r airing their views, loud and everywhere, ..we can really do our part by airing our views @ mnd facebook page! let everyone know tat there r other groups of singaporeans around! the loud complaining yungster grp is just a minority!

hopeful
22-10-11, 16:55
completely agree with u. i think the prob now is that only this youngster group r airing their views, loud and everywhere, ..we can really do our part by airing our views @ mnd facebook page! let everyone know tat there r other groups of singaporeans around! the loud complaining yungster grp is just a minority!

foreigner go where to ask govt to increase FW/FT inflow? :)
also to allow easier conversion to PR, especially housewife on long term social visit pass taking care of kids' education in Singapore.

ysyap
22-10-11, 21:32
foreigner go where to ask govt to increase FW/FT inflow? :)
also to allow easier conversion to PR, especially housewife on long term social visit pass taking care of kids' education in Singapore.Go to MOM! :o

ysyap
22-10-11, 21:34
completely agree with u. i think the prob now is that only this youngster group r airing their views, loud and everywhere, ..we can really do our part by airing our views @ mnd facebook page! let everyone know tat there r other groups of singaporeans around! the loud complaining yungster grp is just a minority!So given a choice, what would u air on the MND facebook? :D

azeoprop
26-10-11, 13:05
Nope. But is freezing here. No heater no hot shower...only beautiful and colorful terrace farms.
:scared-3:

Home sweet home... :)

hopeful
26-10-11, 13:23
Home sweet home... :)

china so advance. kampung also have internet access.

howgozit
03-11-11, 19:55
The saga continues.....

A rebuttal on KBW's blog... supposedly a Bhutanese




Wow, this is interesting. An ordinary Bhutanese wrote on his blog a reply to Khaw Boon Wan's comment that Bhutan wasn't the last Shangri-la on Earth.

This guy goes by the name of PasSsu.

http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/news/11Nov11/others/20111103.123549_bhutan430.jpg

(This is in reply to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan of Singapore on his comments made on our country )

Dear Mr. Khaw,

I was not surprised when you said Bhutan is not the last Shangri-la on Earth, because I had a friend from your country who found Bhutan only "full of mountains and valleys".

When you visited Bhutan, what did you expect? Those flying mountains you saw in Avatar? or Every Bhutanese merrily dancing in designer clothes? Well, you must have at least expected fancier cars and taller buildings but we only have taller mountains (not flying ones) and thicker forest (truly natural).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A4tLcEUIuBY/TqBcWxKy8-I/AAAAAAAAAy8/RDLB4_lwB4o/s1600/php02S358.jpg

I am not surprised even when you said "Most of the time, I saw unhappy people, toiling in the field, worried about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products." because I heard a proverb in school that goes, "Two men looked through the prison window, one saw the mud and other saw the horizon".

I am only surprised that you have spend "Most of your time" in Bhutan looking in the fields. I am amazed at your ability to figure out whether the people are happy or unhappy just by looking at them- O' you even knew they were "worried about the next harvest". No wonder you country export human resources.

I visited your wonderful country sometime ago, and it felt like a city from the future. The transportation system held me spell bound, Cleanliness of the street is so much that I didn't find a fragment of dust on my shoes after walking for the hours, Every building and car looks new, and there is no question about the civic sense among the people.

Four days after I landed in Bhutan I woke up and started sharing the stories of your wonderful country- yes it took me four days of sleeping to shake of the hangover of many sleepless nights in your 24X7 country. I read the amazing history of your country and thought to myself, if Bhutan's to develop, Singapore can be our vision.

But since you questioned the presence of happiness in Bhutan, let me answer by telling you few things that you overlooked when you visited my country. Those people you saw in the fields weren't unhappy, if you have gone closer you would have heard them singing and enjoying the social lives, perhaps you won't understand that.

If you have spent a little longer time watching them, you would have seen and a woman with basket on her back and holding arms with several children coming with steaming food- we don't have McDonald or KFC. Then everybody will sit down to eat their lunch, laughing and joking, feeding babies, for over an hour- you wouldn't have had so much time to sit and watch I know, times means money in your country. But we have luxury of time. People don't worry "about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products." In fact, we don't do much commercial farming, we do most of them to keep with the tradition. And when the sun sets, doesn't really matter what time, people leave for their homes where they have a large family waiting. Large family because we don't chase away our children when they become 18 or children cast away their parents when they age.

We don't need Health Insurance to survive, no have to go for Education Loan for educating our children. We don't hang the drug users, we counsel them to hang on to their lives, we don't have to have a job to survive, and when we fall sick even the furthest cousin comes to attend without having to update Facebook status.

If you reread our history you will find that our wise kings have hidden us from the outside world so that we could remain the way we are today. If we start mining our mountains and lumbering our forests, we can become Singapore in a year but no matter what you do you can never become Bhutan.

It is far too difficult. We shall be the last breath of oxygen on earth.

Bhutan may not be the Last Shangri-la but we are happy.

azeoprop
03-11-11, 20:00
Well said. :cheers5:

Allthepies
03-11-11, 20:18
some people want to be like them to lead simple lives, but not all want to be like them : ) even if we really want to be like them, it is not possile geographically, where is our nice mountains annd nice scenary? zero. we are unlikely to mimic their lives and neither do we want to:) happiness is not in a place, happiness is about grateful and positvie about wat u currently have! i hope people understand this simple yet difficult to comprehend point;)

land118
03-11-11, 20:43
Salute this guy, he write pretty well. Guess when the little RED DOT prosper, we should not belittle others who maybe even smaller DOT than us..KBW, time to be selective and tact when u use analogy...

howgozit
04-11-11, 10:23
I have always thought of Bhutanese as peoples of shorter stature.

But look ... the King is about a head taller than Tony Tan. Even the Bhutanese Queen is half a head taller than TT.

Our first lady Mrs TT looks like a hobbit in this picture (but certainly looks very presidential lah)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpwMF9fA.jpg

The Bhutanese national costume looks exotic.

The queen looks very royal in a top of shimmering regal blue with resplendant orange collar and sleeve ends. This is complimented with an etnic patterned wrap skirt underscoring a culture steeped in traditions.

The king looks like he just stepped out of the bathroom.

(note to TT - pls instruct the Istana butler to keep proper account of all the bathrobes in the guest rooms and toilets....)



;)

land118
04-11-11, 15:02
I have always thought of Bhutanese as peoples of shorter stature.

But look ... the King is about a head taller than Tony Tan. Even the Bhutanese Queen is half a head taller than TT.
;) Seem this King has the "say".., maybe good breed and eat right..., certainly much taller than most of our Gurkha men in blue. Even the Queen is of model height. Nepal and Bhutan probably are the closest neighbours to each other.., one would think that people of this region are of similar physique...:beats-me-man:

phantom_opera
04-11-11, 17:05
Home sweet home... :)

Very beautiful, where is this place in Yunnan?

hopeful
04-11-11, 17:27
Seem this King has the "say".., maybe good breed and eat right..., certainly much taller than most of our Gurkha men in blue. Even the Queen is of model height. Nepal and Bhutan probably are the closest neighbours to each other.., one would think that people of this region are of similar physique...:beats-me-man:

The difference in height is due to diet.

Whoever wants to be Gurkha except the poor. and the poor has lousy diet hence short stature.
The king since young have good diet, hence taller stature than those Gurkhas. :2cents:

azeoprop
04-11-11, 21:18
Very beautiful, where is this place in Yunnan?

DongChuan Red Land (东川红土地) :D

phantom_opera
04-11-11, 23:32
DongChuan Red Land (东川红土地) :D

This is quite off the beaten track, which travel agent? Country Holidays?

howgozit
04-11-11, 23:44
Seem this King has the "say".., maybe good breed and eat right..., certainly much taller than most of our Gurkha men in blue. Even the Queen is of model height. Nepal and Bhutan probably are the closest neighbours to each other.., one would think that people of this region are of similar physique...:beats-me-man:



Must be those Elvis sideburns

novel
09-11-11, 16:27
Its indeed very sad that the last 5 days of parliament is saturated with such out of context 'bashing' which is senseless. Can we move on? Adults behaving like kids. Other countries are laughing at us already lah... Tell WP to stop using analogy in their speeches and tell PAP to stop picking non issues from WP's speeches! Very embarrasing! :doh:

SOOO AGREED!!

Frustrated me that both sides are not targeting the issues together to work out solution rather one side want to seems PROFOOOOUND and give analogies, while the other side can't wait to slam down the analogies.

Hello, we pay all of you to solve problems not give analogies or debates!!

Why can't the parliament start with a list of issues to tackle..e.g. Transportation then both parties proposed solutions and alternatives and take the best compromise solution and put it to work. WASTE TIME!

Allthepies
09-11-11, 16:59
SOOO AGREED!!

Frustrated me that both sides are not targeting the issues together to work out solution rather one side want to seems PROFOOOOUND and give analogies, while the other side can't wait to slam down the analogies.

Hello, we pay all of you to solve problems not give analogies or debates!!

Why can't the parliament start with a list of issues to tackle..e.g. Transportation then both parties proposed solutions and alternatives and take the best compromise solution and put it to work. WASTE TIME!

Tat wat happens when we have a 2 party systems : ) but singaporeans just don't understand, look at the many examples from other countries. Either u vote all PAP out or u vote all Workers Party out :D There won't be middle ground

wenqing
10-11-11, 01:40
Tat wat happens when we have a 2 party systems : ) but singaporeans just don't understand, look at the many examples from other countries. Either u vote all PAP out or u vote all Workers Party out :D There won't be middle ground

You are just blindly blaming 2-party Parliament without hard facts. Besides PAP was opposing WP for the sake of opposing WP throughout the Parliament sessions.

All WP proposals and solutions were disregarded by PAP with a blink of an eye. PAP worked alone so long that it does not know how to work with others anymore and does not know what is the real competitive working world is like anymore.

Debates and disagreements are common in any real competitive working world. People hence need to cultivate soft skills, EQ, work within constraints and learn to work with others but all these seems to be absent in PAP these days.

Competition is good for PAP and good for Singapore. PAP just need to work harder and justify their statements more often, clearly and convincingly as compared to last time when Singaporeans need to accept whatever PAP statements even though it do not make sense.

Issues on Housing, Transport, Education, Jobs, Foreigners, Cost of Living, Recession etc are old recurring issues even when LKY was PM and when there was no opposition or 2 opposition MPs only.

The old issues did not go away and got worse even when PAP dominated Parliament. Now Khaw is building many rental flats instead of HDB flats. Singapore is going back to 1960s.

South Korea and Taiwan after dumping the one-party Parliament and system had some minor ripples initially but had stabilised now and is ahead of Japan who just dumped the one-party Parliament only recently.

Samsung, HTC, Korean and Taiwan entertainment, Acer, BenQ, LG , science, arts, technology etc are all moving fast. National Geographic did documentaries on the rise of Taiwan and South Korea.

Even George Yeo went Taiwan to thank the doctors that save his son and marvelled at Taiwan's new high speed rail. It shows 2-party system increase the development of the countries instead of making the country static.

Not to mention your Apple, iPhone, Nike, Adidas, Fortune 1000 companies, top universities mostly from countries with 2-party systems.

Many Singaporeans despite the boast of expensive First World education from NUS, SMU and NTU are working for bosses from Third World nations with Third World degrees like India, China, Malaysia, Phillipines, Indonesia etc.

In your world, one-party system is not start all and end all.

Your statement is old fashioned PAP mantra and does not sync with voters anymore.

wenqing
10-11-11, 02:18
SOOO AGREED!!

Frustrated me that both sides are not targeting the issues together to work out solution rather one side want to seems PROFOOOOUND and give analogies, while the other side can't wait to slam down the analogies.

Hello, we pay all of you to solve problems not give analogies or debates!!

Why can't the parliament start with a list of issues to tackle..e.g. Transportation then both parties proposed solutions and alternatives and take the best compromise solution and put it to work. WASTE TIME!

Parliament is not a place for brainstorming solutions. Government ministries offices is the place, civil servants and ministers are the people to provide solutions as they are the ones with all the information for any issue. WP do not have enough information to properly give solutions for every issue.

PAP still dominates all government sectors and Parliament. PAP's objectives were not to allow WP to look good in front of Singaporeans. Besides the Parliament Debate Topic was President's Address and nothing else was debated.

Parliament is the place for an alternative eye to ask questions, scrutinise the government and prevent abuse of power. This is better than one-party system whereby no questions ask, no scrutiny and no prevention of abuses.

Parliament is not use to 6 Opposition MPs which is why Parliament topics are still evolving. Maybe when a matured and First World Parliament happen in 50 years time, Parliament topics will be more mature than debate President's empty speech.

Allthepies
10-11-11, 06:58
wenqing, dont get so worked up, im neither supporter of pap nor worker party. just tat it is human nature to try to underpin another person one way or another if that person is ur competitor. the world is as such, there is no use pretending the world is noble or selfless. so if u have A and B together they will spend time fighting, have to live with this fighting if u want both A and B. if u dont want fighting, choose either A or B loh.

devilplate
10-11-11, 08:01
i believe wenqing and basic r 2 different ppl

mcmlxxvi
10-11-11, 16:27
it is not the govt's job to help the younger generation first timers make money from hdb flats. I hate it that during our younger days, we had to slog hard earning a low wage to buy our first flat without help from parents or govt and youngsters these days are demanding this and that from the govt like the govt owes them a living. They want to buy hdb flats low so they can sell it high and upgrade to condo. When it is time for them to buy condo, they will cry out to the govt that pte pty prices too high and measures should be in place to bring prices down :doh: .. Youngsters are just greedy these days and always looking for quick fix solutions in life...haiz

And who guilty of spoiling them? Our generation... :(

azeoprop
10-11-11, 22:18
This is quite off the beaten track, which travel agent? Country Holidays?

We went with dynasty travels. :D