Yours Toothfully by Dr Chan Joon Yee

“OK, Dr Chan, here’s the $1,000,000 interest free loan you’ve asked for. We are not in the position to judge if your business plan is scatter-brained, but we rule that it’s not scatter-brained anyway. Here’s the money ….”

Ouch! Who woke me up?

So what’s new? We’re going to save 2 cents on public transport, drivers are going to save 3 cents on petrol, so why not I give my patients 10 cents discount for every time they come see me for scaling. The more often they come, the more they save. Fortunately or unfortunately, people are not stupid, but their intelligence isn’t of much use when they don’t have a choice when it comes to public transport or pump prices.

Over in Malaysia, BN and PR are engaged in a battle so hot that it turned steamy. Until now, the game of musical chairs was played only by Thai politicians. It’s amazing that it took so long for the game to reach neighbouring Malaysia, but it eventually did with such spectacular drama that those who are not familiar with how quickly Thai politicians and lovers can switch loyalties might think that it’s a Malaysian invention. Pity Elizabeth Wong. An ex-boyfriend might have traded pics of her half-naked and sleeping body for an indecent amount of money. But we all have to get naked to take a shower, don’t we? Would she have to quit her post if some voyeur caught her in the shower?

Judging from online postings, virtually 100% of those who spoke out felt that Ms Wong had done no wrong. Some even suggested that Anwar should exploit the current situation to help the PR win even more votes. Can Ms Wong’s enemies’ plans backfire? Maybe not. First of all, judging from the online postings, the sympathetic responders were obviously, open-minded and intelligent individuals. In any society in the region, these people form the minority of the population – even for Singapore. To judge public sentiment from the vocal minority would be a mistake. Not too long ago, Singapore also had a politician who confessed about his interest in artistic nude photography. He was almost instantly rejected by the electorate because of his unusual hobby.

Why would Ms Wong want to quit just because her private pictures leaked out? Because I think if she didn’t, the blackmailer might have warned that even jucier pics would appear on the mobile phones of some lucky or unlucky Malaysians. Ms Wong would certainly be a liability to her party then.