这就是所谓的賊喊捉贼！

You're running ministries, not the military

Lee Hsien Loong's thinking in managing his team of ministers is, sadly, a reflection of his military background.

"Negligent or dishonest ministers will be sacked but ministers who do not perform well despite their best efforts will be moved to a less demanding portfolio, or, if necessary, phased out discreetly," he said.

But he added exits are "delicate matters" and "must be handled with dignity and decorously".

That's exactly how it is in the military. No one gets fired because of non-performance. And no one resigns, voluntarily or otherwise. As for the motivation to perform, ask any man in green and you'll get a pretty good idea where their priorities lie.

All this do not augur well for Singapore. Until Lee Hsien Loong changes his mindset when it comes to managing the ministers, the team of so-called "qualified people" will never be able to reinvent itself.

Related stuff:
Do the ends always justify the means?

Hong Kong street view

Evening street view along Hennessey Road at the junction of Canal Road West in Wanchai. The colourful neon signs are something that you don't get to see in Singapore. Same goes for the electric cables dangling overhead for the trams. Photos taken last year in early December, several days before I left Hong Kong.

10 things I'll miss about Hong Kong

So I've left Hong Kong before the 7-year itch bit me. Here are 10 things I'll miss about the territory.

1. Cantonese
2. Winter
3. Trams (or "ding ding" as the locals called it) - HK$2.30 gets you anywhere on the line in HK island.
4. Getting to the other side of the Victoria Harbour via ferry
5. Standing on the right side of the escalator
6. Street protests
7. Mini buses
8. Traditional Chinese
9. The ridiculously trivial celebrity gossips (not the feeble stuff in Singapore)
10. One country, two systems (ok, we have that too in Singapore - one for the ruling elites, one for lesser mortals)

GFW

Not "Going For the Win", damn it!

But going behind the Great Firewall of China was an equally damning experience for those who are used to the free and easy information superhighway of the Internet.

Things were moving along quite nicely in the Philippines for me that at one stage I was thinking of getting an apartment either in Makati or Serendra. Fortunately, before I took this major leap, my company deemed it necessary to move me to its office in Shenzhen, presumably to take advantage of my Mandarin-speaking capability.

Shenzhen was a mixed bag of blessings. Culturally and linguistically, it was relatively easy for me to adapt. But living here posed a different set of challenges, chief among them being quality of foodstuff (or rather, the lack thereof), the authenticity of everything, petty crimes (pickpocketing, swindling, snatch and run, etc).

Otherwise, life was good until the summer of 2009. The financial tsunami must have been a tough time for many expatriates and I was similarly affected. To cut a long story short, I ended up across the border in Hong Kong at the tail end of 2009.