Rethinking meritocracy

Singapore is a country that prides itself on meritocracy, and indeed most Singaporeans are proud of that too. The basis is that meritocracy is fair in that everyone has a chance to raise up in the society as long as you have merit, regardless of your ethnicity and your social class.

However, recently, I began to have second thoughts about meritocracy. One of the problems I find is that it breeds a sense of entitlement and a tendency towards indifference for the less fortunate. It is common to find people who feel they are entitled to huge rewards, believing that they deserve so purely because of their own merits, and disregarding any forms of interactions with other people that lead them there. And then there are people who thought the poor deserves to be poor because they are not working hard enough.

Today, I come across another interesting idea in the Straits Times article Misguided fight against 'inequality' (by Samuel Brittan. Straits Times, 8 Oct 2011 p.A39). What is interesting is that the article referred to Hayek's an argument that there is a difference between "value" and "merit". What we are actually doing in the name of meritocracy is not so much rewarding people for their merit as much as their value. Perhaps that's where meritocracy starts to go wrong.

According to Friedrich A Hayek:

The inborn as well as the acquired gifts of a person clearly have a value to his fellows which does not depend on any credit due to him for possessing them. There is little a man can do to alter the fact that his special talents are very common or exceedingly rare. A good mind or a fine voice, a beautiful face or a skilful hand, and a ready wit or an attractive personality are in a large measure as independent of a person's efforts as the opportunities or the experiences he has had. In all these instances the value which a person's capacities or services have for us and for which he is recompensed has little relation to anything that we can call moral merit or deserts. Our problem is whether it is desirable that people should enjoy advantages in proportion to the benefits which their fellows derive from their activities or whether the distribution of these advantages should be based on other men's views of their merits.

For the full reading on this idea, see the following URL:
http://www.woldww.net/classes/General_Philosophy/Hayek-equality.htm

What do you lose when it doesn't matter to you?

Heard this anecdote today:

Girl loves boy very much. Boy not really interested. Friend tells girl: "If you breakup, the boy loses a girl who loves him very much. But you only lose a boy that doesn't love you much. So the boy loses more."

Hmm... I say this is just Ah Q mentality. The harsh reality is that if someone doesn't love you, he won't think it is a loss. In the end, it's the one who loves most who gets hurt the most.

On conventional wisdom

We Associate truth with convenience with what closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life. We also find highly acceptable what contributes the most to self-esteem.

-- John Kenneth Galbraith
(Taken from Freakonomics)

曾经有一个人爱过

J，你跟我说过，在你状况最差的时候，有一个人爱着你，你很感激。

我明白，那只是一份感激而已，你无法以爱回应。

谢谢你陪我走了这一段。无法给你什么。希望你会记得：

曾经，在你状况最差的时候，有一个人爱过你。

Oceanful of tears

The Buddha said,

Sentient beings are subjected to
Much sufferings in endless cycles of birth and death;
And the tears shed from being separated from loved one,
Is enough to fill an ocean.

- Sutra on Relieving Sorrows.

I wonder, how much more tears will I shed?

与爱别离，泪流成海

在释见介著的《与佛陀赏花去》里，看到了这么一句：

佛经说：“我们过去生中与所爱的人分离所流的眼泪，比四大海的海水还要多”

那我在无止的轮回中，曾流了多少，还会流多少？

-----------------------------------------------------
注：出自《佛说解忧经》
“又彼有情，生死别离，爱恋泣泪，亦如海水”。

Images from temples in Northern Thailand

Some pictures from my recent backpack trip in Northern Thailand. These are mainly from Nan and Lampang.

Pink Dot 2011

This year's pink dot is so big that it is not a dot! From the arial view, it looked like the whole Hong Lim Park was a patch of pink!



I was there at 4pm as part of the Pelangi Pride Centre group. There were already quite a buzz with many people having set up mats and having a picnic. The signs were there that it would be much bigger than previous years, and it was.

I was there at the first one three years ago. Although I was not part of the organizing committee, I knew it only came through after much hard work of those who worked behind the scene. It was postponed many times and at some time, almost fell through.

There was much anxiety then. People weren't sure what will exactly happen. Would the police give trouble? Would the religious groups protest? But in spite of it all, the event was attended by more than 2000 people, and went through without any issues.

As one of those in that dot, it felt like I was witnessing a important moment in the LGBT movement in Singapore and I was part of the historical movement. I knew things were not change over night. But it was the start of something important.

At the first pink dot, many people were still cautious and afraid. There were many people who would only loiter around the edge of the park and looked on. Many did not dare to wear pink.

But they would eventually join the dot.

This year, I saw so many new faces. So many were there for the first time. There were still many on-lookers, many who would only loiter by the side. But mostly, it was like a party in the park. People who about happily, confident with no sign of anxiety.

After the event, I did saw someone changing out of his pink outfit in the toilet. Still, the fact that he participated in the event, was probably an important journey for him.

I suspected this year, the Pink Dot benefited some what from the spill over effects of the May General Election. Boo Junfeng's very well made video also helped to generate quite a bit of publicity. Furthermore, mainstream newspaper like Straits Time even reported mentioned it about it, and Google Singapore sponsored the event as well.

I must say we have come quite a long way in the three years.

And I hope in years to come, this would have build the bridge towards the rest of the society and help build a more inclusive and accepting society.

Thank you to the Pink Dot organizers who made this happen!



And yes, I spotted Nichole Seah and Vincent Wijeysingha in the event! I can't resist getting a photo with them! I must confess I was quite a big fan of both of these politicians during the last election!

Letter to ST Forum

My letter to Straits Times Forum appeared on its online edition:

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_659158.html

Here's it:

Apr 21, 2011

Better an affordable home, than asset enhancement

THE Government argues that by enhancing the value of HDB homes (read: increasing the prices of homes), it gives a valuable asset to Singaporeans and a stake in the country ('WP's housing proposal irresponsible, says Mah'; April 15).

I find this problematic on several counts. First, for the majority, the home is an indispensable basic necessity, not a disposable asset. When prices of homes increase, the average home owner is not able to gain from it - while he is able to sell at a higher price, it also means he has to buy the new home at a higher price. Only the rich who can afford more than one home stand to gain.

Second, it deepens the divide between the haves and have-nots, for those financially less well off either find homes slipping beyond their reach, or face the heavy burden of financing a huge loan.

Third, the objective of asset enhancement through rising home prices naturally conflicts with the objective of providing affordable housing. It is tough to balance the two and implement effective policies.

Fourth, the argument that asset enhancement ties Singaporeans to the country holds little water. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people who emigrate cite 'unaffordable housing' as a reason among others. Ironically, the rising property prices here means emigrants can use the gains from the property to buy a 'more affordable' home in a foreign country. In fact, a majority of Singaporeans are displeased with rising home prices.

Instead of thinking of increasing prices to enhance the 'asset value' of the home, we should start to recognise that an affordable home is an asset in itself. Keeping home prices low and affordable means Singaporeans, especially young people planning to start families and buy their first home, can rest assured that they will always be able to own a place to call their home.

I think this would provide a more rooted sense of belonging than that of an expensive house. We need to recognise that we are deriving much utility from that house even if its resale price remains stagnant. We need to appreciate that while stagnant prices may mean little capital gain when selling the current house, it also means not having to pay through the nose for the new one.

Let us go back to the primary objective of public housing - to provide affordable housing to the majority of the people. Let us recognise that affordable housing is an asset in itself, both to the individual and the nation.

Lai Nam Khim

明月千里寄相思-吳鶯音

老歌，在Love of Siam里听到的，找了很久才找到。

遇上、错过、放弃

在冗长或转眼即逝的人生里，你遇上，错过，又或放弃了几个？

- 《小狗情人》

《一个我未曾到过的地方》

《一个我未曾到过的地方》 E. E. 康明斯


一个我未曾到过的地方，欣然地
超乎任何体验，就在你眼内的静谧：
在你最柔弱的手势里，是那些包围我的，
那些太近，以致我无法触摸的东西。

你淡然一瞥，便轻易解开我，
尽管我已如手指般紧闭，
你总是一瓣一瓣地把我打开，就如春天
（娴熟地，神秘地，轻触着）把她的第一朵玫瑰打开

若你的意愿是要把我关闭，我连同
我的生命便将合拢，美丽又骤然地，
就如这花朵内心里，幻想着
雪花小心翼翼地四处飘落；
我们世上所能感受的，无能媲美于
你那强烈的脆弱所蕴含的力量：其质感
连同其所有国度的颜色，驱使着我，
在每一次的呼吸间，诠释着死亡与永恒

（我不清楚，究竟是你的什么特质，关闭
又打开；但我心里某处能明白
你眼神的声音比所有的玫瑰还深邃）
没有人，甚至雨，有如此般细小的手。


translated from Somewhere I have never travelled by E. E. Cumming

大屿山之恋

Images from Lantau:

1) Homage to the Buddha 朝拜大佛

---

2) Tai O 大奥渔歌

Vegetarian in Hong Kong

I was in Hong Kong 1-4 Jan and getting vegetarian food is more difficult that I expected.

I was staying in Tsim Sha Tsui, some where near Chungking Mansion. So there is always Indian vegetarian food to fall back on in the worst case. But I wasn't too keen on that.

Through the Happy Cow website, I found a few vegetarian restaurants.

What I found was that restaurants seems to be the only option available, and they don't work well for a lone traveller like me. I took a look at a few restaurant's menu. Dishes were generally HK$40 upwards. If I order 2 dishes, with the pluses (service charges and taxes), it will add up to something like HK$100, with probably too much food for 1 person as well. That's kind of expensive.

To be fair, at HK$40 - HK$50 a dish, it's comparable to the restaurants in Singapore. However, I do not eat at restaurants every meal -- it's too expensive! If I weren't alone, I would probably try a few of the vegetarian restaurants.

Besides, the vegetarian restaurants were not easy to find. I had to write down the addresses from Happy Cow to find them. Whereas in Taiwan, I can easily run into a vegetarian eatery while I wonder around.

There are many small eateries around but they do not offer vegetarian options. Many primarily sell meat (e.g. roast meat, BBQ meat etc). The ubiquitous Hong Kong style "tea restaurants" (cha chan teng 茶餐厅) do not have vegetarian food other than plain steam rice rolls and toast.

It took some effort, but in the end, I got by quite alright.

I was staying in a guest house along Cameron Road. The nearest vegetarian restaurant was the Ah Sin Vegetarian (G/F 71 Chatham Road, South Oriental Centre) along Chatham Road South just round the corner from Cameron Road. This was reported to be a popular restaurant, but I did not eat there. I did buy some dim sum from their takeout counter. The dim sum were going for HK$10 for 3 pieces, which weren't too expensive. The only problem is that they were cold and the steamed dim sum just do not taste good when cold. I suggest you go for the deep fried or baked dim sum instead. The takeout counter also sold lunch boxes for HK$25, and they had set lunch for 2 at HK$125.

After having problem finding food the first day, I got onto the net and search HappyCow.net again. To my delight I found a vegetarian noodle joint nearby and I ate there almost everyday for the rest of my trip.

The restaurant is called Lan Lan Vegetarian Restaurant. (靓靓) It is modelled after the traditional push cart noodle (车仔面).

It's a small restaurant, with limited seats. There is a piece of paper on each table. On the piece of paper, you choose the noodle you want (there are more than 10 type of noodles available), and the ingredients you want (e.g. mushrooms, broccoli, leafy vegetables, etc), and finally the soup base. Unfortunately, it's all in Chinese. There is no English menu. In the worst case, you can ask for the recommended noodle set in the picture on the wall.

The noodles are between HK$11 to HK$13 (depending on the type of noodles), and the ingredients are HK$6 per order. But what I found is that if they normally give half an order if you select more than 3, so it did not added up to be too expensive. With a selection of 6 ingredients, my bowl of noodles came up to $35 only. That's the most value for money and economical meal I found in Hong Kong.
With lots of vegetables, the soup noodles were an healthy and hearty, and nice in the cold winter weather.

Besides noodles, they also have rice, stir fry vegetable dishes, and other snacks.

I tried their fried tofu, pan-fried dumplings (水煎饺 HK$18)as well as the vegetarian version of Hong Kong's street food -- fried stuffed trios (煎酿三宝 HK$25) which is "fish meat" stuffed in egg plant, chili and tofu skin and deep fried (see picture).

The address of the restaurant is Ground A, 15 Austin Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui. But it is actually along Kimberly Road (I think it is part of a building which faces Austin Ave). It is easier to find it by walking along Kimberly Road northwards toward Austin Ave. However, you may miss the sign for it because it is covered by the signboard of another restaurant. It is directly opposite a 7-11, if that helps.


Another restaurant I found was at the Lady's Market. There were many street food stalls, but I could not find anything vegetarian. I found that there were 2 vegetarian restaurants along Tung Choi street. But it is not easy to find them because the makeshift stalls blocked the view. Walk behind the street stalls. At the end of Tung Choi street near Dundas street, there is a Vegetarian Kitchen. This is a Japanese restaurant. You can get sushi, sashimi and ramen. I ordered a bowl of rice with a meat pattie in it (HK$38) and an order of vegetable tempura. The food was pretty good. The final bill came up to HK$78 because there were some additional charges. It's a little pricey, but I guess in Hong Kong, that's about what I have to expect to pay for a meal.

The best meal I had was actually in the Po Lin temple in Lantau.
I paid HK$60 for the meal ticket, which included entrance to an exhibition hall inside the giant Buddha.

At first, I expected to be grouped with some strangers for the meal which is the common practice in temples. I was surprised to be lead to a small table instead and was served individually. First, I was given a big pot of rice, a big bowl of miso soup and a pot of hot Chinese tea. Then I was served 3 dishes. The dishes were very tasty. It's actually a little too much for one person, but I finished them all nonetheless. A friend warned me that the food at the temple was bad -- just a some badly cooked vegetables, he said. But I think it's probably because he didn't like vegetables. I thought the food was excellent. I saw that other tables with more people had 4 to 5 dishes. But I was happy with my 3 dishes.

I had problem finding breakfast in Hong Kong. I saw many noodles joints but none vegetarian. Of course, there is always bread available from 7-11, but I am really not a bread person. I walked into one of those Hong Kong tea restaurant (茶餐厅). The only vegetarian option I could find was plain steam rice rolls (斋肠粉) and toast, which I ordered.

Then I found the Singapore chain Toast Box and the next two morning I ended up having my breakfast there. (HK$28 for a set meal, with kaya toast, two fried egg, and a coffee).


There is, however, one thing I like about Hong Kong. Desert stalls are quite common. Sesame paste, peanut paste, mango pudding with pomelo (杨枝甘露), dumpling balls ("ah bo ling" 汤圆) etc. When I could not find food, these were good snacks to fill the stomach.