The Odex case

In case no one thinks that I read local news: I've been following the Odex case with great interest. This will prove to be a landmark case in Singapore's courts. In simplest terms, it is about copyright infringement. The Internet has truly changed the game. Savvy Internet users find a file here or their friends send them a link, they open Bittorrent and start downloading. It's so simple to them.

And because it's so simple, they continue doing it like there's nothing wrong. But it also means that they are taking what they haven't actually bought. That's piracy. Plain and simple. Singapore has strong laws and we must enforce them. If we let our children get away with stealing, then they'll become mafia thugs when they grow up. We can't allow that. Besides, there's the bigger problem that our laws will be made a mockery by these youngsters. That is something that we absolutely cannot allow, and we will clamp down hard if we have to.

But Odex... that's a tough nut to crack. On one hand, they have the right intentions, though their boss could learn some proper manners. On the other hand, they're not the original copyright holders. It's a grey area. To safeguard our interests, I've already called Abe to let him know that his country's intellectual property isn't being stolen from right under our noses. I can't afford to jeopardise our FTA with him.

However, we don't want what's going on in the U.S., where the RIAA is now seen as a gang of hoodlums taking advantage of poor young children. We must never go that way. If our children need to be punished, fine. But they must never lose faith in our justice system. It's all we have against the real criminals and libellous slanderers.

I'll let the courts work out the case. Let them set the precedent. In the meantime, I've directed Jaya to start looking over our copyright laws and find out how we can strengthen them further.

To get a youth's perspective, I also asked Hongyi what he thought about this. Since his last run-in with the power of the Internet, I thought that he would have a unique viewpoint. He agreed that what those downloaders were doing is wrong, but he said that if it's free for the taking, then the temptation could be so strong that a person could break. I understand what he means. And I wasn't taken aback by what he said either.

This doesn't mean that I'm throwing in the towel. Obviously, the HIP campaign isn't working. I'll need to talk to those people about it, get them to shape up or ship out. Singapore is run by results. If I don't get the results I want, then I'll replace you with the folks who can get it done right. It's that simple.

ERP increase

As I had anticipated, news of the ERP increase were not greeted warmly by drivers. Complaints were already coming into my office as soon as Raymond announced them. There was no way to prevent the outcry. We can minimise it, control it, manage it. But we must press on with this move. It is the only way to keep a lid on the growing traffic.

I want you, my fellow Singaporean, to know that I understand the hit on your wallet. I also want you to know that this is the best solution that we have. We worked out a few scenarios, some less expensive, some immensely more. In the end, we hit the middle ground, and we think that this is the most workable outcome that we have.

The LTA is hard at work to ensure that the implementation goes on smoothly. They will be monitoring traffic on these heavy utilised roads to ensure that speeds remain within the acceptable range. If necessary, we may tweak the system a bit more, which means another round of ERP increase.

The computer models show that traffic patterns will change, meaning more vehicles on less busy roads. We need to distribute the traffic so that everyone gets where they need to quickly. We must work together to keep traffic flowing smoothhly. We don't want traffic jams, like what you have in Bangkok and Beijing. Is that really what you want? You decide.

By now, you should also realise that this is not the last increase in ERP. As I said before, "man man lei". Slowly does it. We will continue to adjust the system until it fits our needs perfectly. A balance between road usage and payments. In the meantime, Raymond and his LTA will continue collecting feedback. We value them all. Please let us know how we're doing.

Post-NDP Rally

I'm still in the midst of collecting and compiling the feedback from my rally. I appreciate the efforts put in by the Feedback Unit and grassroots leaders. I think they help me understand the ground better.

I want to touch on one thing that people keep asking me about: money. They want to know why we're giving our surpluses away. Why the one per cent CPF interest increase? Why restart Punggol 21? Why invest in Malay language education? These are good questions and should be answered one by one.

What I will say now is that I am merely responding to another call. With the GST increase, there have been louder calls for greater access to the surpluses, more money in their bank accounts. The government has given out New Singapore Shares and other funds. Now, we're giving out incentives. I think that this is a step in the right direction. We are slowly giving back some of the surpluses. But not too much! We always need some money for rainy days.

So on one hand, there is a need to spend to make Singapore into a true City of Possibilities. On the other hand, we must be careful about what we spend on. Education and housing have always been our top priorities. And we need to help the old folks who don't have enough money in their retirement.

I have more to share, but will wait until after I've collated the feedback. I appreciate your patience. In the meantime, please continue sending your feedback to me.

Run-up to National Day Rally

I hope that you're as excited as I am about my National Day Rally speech tomorrow. My speechwriters have primed it wonderfully, my image consultants have picked out my attire and trimmed my hair, and my worthy opposition politicians are sniffing around for morsels to rip apart at the next election.

Of course, I'm not worried about all that, especially that last one. What I am concerned about, though, is that my office is unable to keep a secret. Some of the good stuff has already been leaked out. The most recent one was from my daddy. But I know he means well. He's told me the same thing many times over on Sunday night family dinners: find your successors early, but keep them on a tight leash.

Fortunately, I still have a few key points left to reveal on Sunday. They're sure to keep the nation enthralled for a few days. Long enough to ride out the unfortunate market downturn. I called George about it the other day, he said it's not his fault. But he promised to look into it. I'm counting on it.

Meanwhile, I've already sent instructions to all grassroots leaders. They are to prepare the ground for my good news. Make sure everyone is excited about them. Keep dissention to a minimum. If necessary, move those negative voices online, where the uncle and auntie at the coffeeshop won't know about them.

Everything's ready. I know I'm ready. I've been ready since the last rally. And I hope you are too. This is your nation, your rally. We must come together as one nation, one people. My speech is for the betterment of all Singaporeans. So listen up and listen well.

Oh, and look out for the punchlines too.

Talking to journalists

Those sneaky Malaysian journalists lay a trap for me. They tried to get me to say that it was their own Malaysian government that was stonewalling any and all efforts to improve bilateral relations with Singapore. Fortunately I had not only been briefed well, but I already knew what I was going to say.

I respect the Malaysian media and its much vaunted "freedom of the press". But I think they don't understand their own leaders. Badawi's a good chap. I like him. He's a very different leader. In spite of his small physical stature, whenever I'm with him, I can't help but feel humbled.

So it's a pity that he gets the short end of the stick. His critics call him soft, lenient, unable to take a firm stand on anything. I say that it's all rubbish. Badawi has a good head on his shoulders. He has a tough job as leader of a Muslim-dominated country in these times. But he's done a good job in balancing the needs and wants of his people. I respect him.

I wish all leaders could be like him. It'd make my job much easier to do. Instead, I have to deal with folks like CT. He stole my thunder -- and on the front page of the papers no less! Now, my staff writers will need to rewrite my speech, so that it doesn't sound like I'm parroting him.

But in spite of that, I still need CT. He has experience, he's built bridges to the Middle East. When I told him to go to Teheran, he went. And his camaraderie with the general populace rubs off on me. Anyway, he seems to have quieted down somewhat, especially after his blunder last year. I just need to make sure that he's briefed better next time.

Teck Ghee National Day celebration

To my residents of Teck Ghee constituency,

Your inspirational and emotional performance on National Day was truly appreciated. I could see in the eyes of the young children that they loved their country deeply enough to give their all, even on a public holiday. And their parents waving and laughing. It was a sea of red and white, moving in unison to our national songs. I know some of you had trouble singing the lyrics, but I appreciate your efforts. It showed your patriotism and support for your country and MP.

To my grassroots leaders, be satisfied to know that your hard work has paid off. It was worth it entirely. We have certainly moved on from that fateful day. Election Day 2006. When one-third of my constituency voted against me. It was a painful moment. Very hurtful. But I've moved on. And I'm glad to see that you have too. Keep up the efforts to unite my constituency.

I'm glad that all of you made time to celebrate our National Day together. We must maintain our strong community bonds in this time of hardship. Terrorists are everywhere. They will exploit our moments of weakness to destroy us utterly. We must not allow that. A strong community is the first line against terrorists. We must put on our bold and united face against the enemy. Holding such community events serve to bring us together as one people, one nation.

It doesn't matter if we have to celebrate on our rest day. We must all make sacrifices for the greater good. I took time off from my busy schedule to participate with you too. You saw me later at the Parade. I was hale and hearty, full of gusto and energy. That is how we must all be. Put our all into our efforts, move quickly from one to the other. Don't falter, don't hesitate. Soldier on.

I look forward to our next grand celebration at the end of the year. I'm sure my grassroots leaders are already hard at work at putting on an even better show. It will require more sacrifices, but it will be worth it. Together, we can ensure that come next election, I will receive all of your votes.

It's a good NDP at Marina Bay

That was a good parade at the Marina Bay. I really enjoyed myself. As I was walking down to my seat, I could feel the crowd's adulation. This is my third year as PM, but it always feels like the first time. It's become second nature to me. Smile and wave at the crowd. It's all worth it.

I enjoyed watching the parade from my vantage point. Seeing all of the performers' faces wet with perspiration. It reminded me of when I performed at the NDP years back. My face was wet from the rain. My uniform was drenched. Do you know what it's like to be soaking wet? But I couldn't back down. Everyone was watching me. The PM's son. If I quit, everyone quit. But I couldn't quit. Not for Daddy.

They say that every year's performance gets better and better. Well, they should! We're throwing millions of dollars into making the greatest show on Earth! You know, you haven't lived until you've been to one of our parades "live". They are that good. Oscar-worthy. Just ask the thousands of spectators.

And what better way to end it than with fireworks. Absolutely spectacular. The crowds lap it up. Fireworks explode, the crowd cheers. More fireworks go up, the crowd goes wild. We can't throw enough fireworks. They always want more fireworks. We've banned the public from launching fireworks, so we throw them this bone and they chew it up. Like I said, it's all worth it.

Now, I'm going to sit back and just relax for a little. Maybe I'll give George a call, ask him if he saw the fireworks. He loves explosions.