temasek not selling singapore assets - dhana

for a while i was nervous. natsteel was sold. so was raffles hotel, cias. then dbs building. then what? the istana? it is good that dhana confirmed that temasek is not going to sell local assets for overseas investments. it reminds me of how aw cheng chye sold his father's bank to wee cho yaw. selling inheritance by a prodigal son is a sure sign of things going wrong. let's hope we don't see anymore selling of our national inheritance and national heritage. it is like selling our souls. the chinese saying, selling 'peh kong giap,' or the created wealth of fathers and grandfathers.

general election : my manifesto

let me suggest what i think should go into a manifesto. 1. fairer distribution of wealth to the people without undermining private enterprise and entreprenuership. 2. depoliticising of govt and non govt organisations. 3. make the presidency an honourary position. better still to do away with the presidency. a president is dysfunctional in the face of a rogue govt, like it or not. a rogue govt can change the constitution or even remove the presidency at will. 4. govt policies must be citizens first. 5. fine tuning of cost of essential services to alleviate the plight of the lower income segment of the population.

general election : a manifesto in question

first eng hen fired the first shot by declaring the wp's manifesto as a time bomb. then hsien loong followed by telling thia khiang to have it modified. the election battle has started. the pap's position is national interest in terms of racial harmony and questions the wp's objective through it's manifesto. should the wp change its manifesto because hsien loong suggested so? doing it will be admitting defeat at the first salvo. if not, is it able to defend its objective for racial harmony? their approach may be different, but the objective for racial harmony cannot be compromised. would the wp be able to explain how they are going to achieve this from what they have proposed? if it is just a different approach, then it is acceptable. but if what they proposed will eventually lead to a breakup of our social cohesion, they will have problems convincing the people to follow them. from my interpretation, what they have suggested are not workable. for this i agree with the pap. the impression i have is the lack of a clear thinking process in coming out with the manifesto. and if it is going to cause harm, they have lost the battle from the start. it is a pity that wp does not have strong thinkers who can come out with pragmatic policies. ideals are ideals and must be backed up with workable actions. i hope they can explain the hows. they need many explanations to do. the politics of today is not the politics of the animal farm. you cannot run away without the intellectuals providing the ballasts. the legs are not good enough without a thinking head.

kan seng apologises for cops

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Saturday apologised for the way the police overreacted to a group of school girls' plan to sell and wear white elephant T-shirts at the opening of Buangkok Station. The white elephant cut-outs had become such icons that a group of Raffles Girls School girls planned to sell T-shirts with their design, and wear them at the opening of the Buangkok Station. But not everything went as planned. The police advised the organiser to apply for a permit when they found out that the proceeds were for charity. For this, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who's also the Home Affairs Minister praised the police for being flexible and helpful, and the students for their creative plan and sense of humour. But Mr Wong was disappointed the police had clamped down on those wearing the T-shirts for fear that doing so in large groups may be "misconstrued by some as an offence".... Mr Wong said the police may have overreacted on this, but there were also other instances where the police were criticised for not doing enough to check overly exuberant behaviour. One example was the use of foam sprays at the Christmas Orchard Road Party, where some young women were blinded and then molested by some men. Instead of clamping down on the use of foam at the New Year's Eve party the following week, the police adopted a softer approach, by appealing to the common sense and cooperation of the public. Police also warned that if the foam spray was used to commit a criminal act, such as molest, the offenders would be arrested. DPM Wong said: "The recent episode at Buangkok showed how difficult it is for police to act. On one hand they have to maintain law and order and public interest, on the other hand they have to consider that society changes all the time and they have to continue to open up and liberalise some of the rules that we have in place." But Mr Wong stressed, that in so doing, the ultimate interest must be that of Singapore's, and not just specific groups or individuals. - CNA/ a little discretion will go a long way.

april 1 comes early

sunday morning is a time for a little senseless digression. it is good to read of laughters and applauses in the sunday times, during speeches by koh boon wan and ng eng hen. both must have been telling a lot of jokes to draw the laughters from their audiences. it is good that ministers have a good sense of humour. a rare quality in this highly stressed singapore when children playing with white elephants are taken very seriously by adults. now for a little good news. boonwan announced that from april 1, withdrawal of medisave is up from $300 to $400. this is one of the reasons for the loud applause reported by the serious sunday times. i think the applause will be thunderous if the announcement is for medical fees to by slashed by another 10%. but good news is good news. no need to bother about substance. another piece of good news. an average c class hospital bill is $800. and 9 in 10 patients in b2 class paid less than $2,200. and the medisave account as at end 2004 showed a balance of at least $17,000. more than enough to pay for hospital bills. so no need to worry. given that not many people will be hospitalised more than 3 times in their life time, and using the $2,200 figure as a guide, would a $6,600 medisave balance be more than adequate? take in the continuous increases in medical fees, a $10,000 medisave balance will surely be sufficient. ahem, i think the roar of approval will bring down the roof of the hall if boonwan would to announce that from april 1 medisave will be capped at $10,000 instead of the current $32,500 and will go up further. and eng hen drew laugher in his rebuttal of wp's 4 dangerous time bombs in its manifesto. maybe the wp should take his advice and do a thorough audit on the team that put up these dangerous proposals. are the proposals seriously thought out to win votes for the wp or to undermine wp? if i can agree with 3 out of eng hen's four rebuttals, then i think it is serious. the four points may be announced too early. april 1 is still quite some time away. the point that i agree with wp is subsidies and assistances to those who need help. after spending $2.5 bil on upgradings of parks and facilities, and $1 bil for needy folks, i thought it will be better to spend $2.5 bil on people and $1 bil on parks and plants and upgrading. then no reason to say money not enough. with 240,000 on the official list of being poor, money sure not enough. $1 bil really can't do much. it is better to give, maybe $100,000 to one person and he will be so much happier. and cheaper to do so. and one can claim authority from the divine who said, 'for those who have, more will be given to them.' with divine authority, who dare to say it is wrong? so if you are earning a lot more, maybe $2 mil, you need not have to complain that you need a raise. you need not have to tell people that you need more cash to stash away in your bank accounts. more will be given to you without asking. isn't that nice? it is a beautiful sunday.

foreign talents: malaysians not in the equation

while many write or talk about the foreign talent issue, one thing that has escape notice or discussion is the malaysians, and also ex singaporeans. these two groups are being taken for granted. the malaysians, for historical reasons, and familiarity are never seen as outsiders in this regard. there are welcome to come and go. the issue of singaporean vs malaysian, the you against us mentality, only crops up when there is a spat, usually politically motivated. this closeness as a common people between two bickering nations is unique in our context. but with a few more generations down the line, will this closeness remain or evaporate forever into the future?

janadas devan: why spore should welcome foreign talent

i fully agree with his final remarks 'give me your weavers, your drainers,/your huddled financiers and traders yearning to breathe free,/the wretched geniuses - with IQs above 160, never mind EQ -of your teeming shore.' the crux of the matter is all talents, with IQs of 160. not all the half talents or mister average which we too have plentiful, and have given two or two and a half years of their precious youth to the nation. and will take up arms to die for the nation. we cannot trade off the lives of our own sons for half bakes. experts, technocrats, professionals are welcome with open arms. i will welcome them too. janadas uses the example of america and uk as good examples of free countries that benefitted greatly from the welcome foreign talent policies. what he forgot to elaborate is that these two are big countries and especially america where land is big and opportunities are aplenty but with few heads except red indians. they have no problems accepting all the foreign talents without causing severe unemployment and social stress to their own people. america is a totally different case as the country was new and unstructured, and wild. we have structured ourselves over the last 40 years. we cannot afford to drown our country with an influx of foreigners to replace the citizens. or shall we follow the americans in displacing their true sons of the soil, the red indians, with foreign talents? this follow the america thinking is very dangerous for a small country like us. the stark difference in dimension and size will put all policies that were right in america wrong here. we try to do things like we are america but without the critical mass to spread the risk or to provide the numbers. as such, we have seen many crazy ideas being implemented, blindly to the detriment of nation and people. yes welcome all those with 160 IQs.

nude squat to snoop squad

malaysia will be a nation forever divided and sanctioned in the constitution. the bumiputra policies, with its well intention to protect the rights of the malays, will divide the country along racial lines. ain't this bad enough? now the more serious and dangerous threat to further divide the country is the sanctioned of islam as a parallel institution to the national courts of justice. article 121(1A) rules that the national courts have no jurisdiction over the religious courts. the nation thus has two judicial systems of equal status. does it mean that if the religious court sentenced a thief to have his hands chop off, the national court has no right to intervene? what about citizens who are muslims and are also from other races, and the issue is grey or controversial? can the accused choose to be judged by a national court? the body case is a good example. the family has no say and neither has the national court any say even to dispute whether moorthy actually became a muslim. and as much as he is a muslim and belongs to islam, he is also a husband and a father and belongs to the family and his indian community. but the religious court is supreme. with racial and religion as the two swords that divide the nation, and with a religion that has no qualms about interfering into the private affairs of its believers and non believers, the stage is set for more confrontation. malaysia can be set on fire any day.

catherine lim, i agree with you

catherine lim wrote a long article today in the straits times on the perennial issue of freedom of speech. i must say i fully agree with her. just recall the white elephants at buangkok and the sale of white elephant t-shirt issues are enough to tell a very enlightening story. i buy you kopi, catherine.

world bank/imf conference: 300 to be caned!

fast forward to the worldbank/imf conference and the big demonstration. then imagine 300 demonstrators from usa, australia, uk, south korea, japan, hk etc got arrested for violence. then all sentenced to be caned. wow, can be a tourist attraction. and another guinness world record.

no pay for the presidency

the stringent criteria for the presidency has limited the pool of candidates to a very few very rich and well established individuals. it is no longer a position for the not so affordable people. people who are qualified to run for presidency literally do not need the money. they are well established, well accomplished, and well advanced in age. the presidency is the highest position in the state and its value cannot be measured by a salary. let's not insult the presidency by giving it a money value. also they don't really need the money. make the presidency an honour position. it is an honour to serve as the president of the nation. people seeking presidency shall not be seeking money. the thought is degrading. in this light, i would suggest that the president be paid an honorarium and not a salary. and the honorarium can be in the region to $200k or $300k per annum. more than enough. too much for such dignitaries who have achieved a lot in life. let them serve with honour than with money in their mind. let them be above money and need not have to pray how much they should get for bonus at the end of the year. remove the money factor from the minds of the people and let it not be an issue of ridicule.

gst: let's play with numbers

numbers are very interesting especially in percentage terms. let's apply it to the gst and see how funny it becomes. imagine a jobless man who happens to earn only $100 in a year as he was unemployed most of the time. his annual income is $100. and he pays no income tax. can't be? but what about indirect tax through gst? he pays in everyway as he consumes goods and services. bus fares, food, conservancy fees, etc. let's say all this adds up to $100 gst. he pays 100% tax!!! true. no joke. an unemployed can pay 100% or more in tax because of gst. what about those who earn no income and still pay gst? what kind of percentage? then apply the gst to those who earn a million and pay $10,000 in gst. in percentage terms, the rich pays very little gst compares to the very poor. this is number game.

how singaporeans wasted their hard earned money

in coes which is a piece of paper that lasts for 10 years. in scrapping their almost brand new cars that can last for another 10 or more years. in a subsidised hdb flat that will eventually be valueless. in upgrading their eventually valueless flats by pumping in more money. now you know how singaporeans spent their life savings and ended up as hard up cases. owning a hdb flat is not an investment but an expendable item just like a car. instead of 10 years, it is 99 years. the initial profits due to inflation and speculation will end up as nothing with time. it is not a freehold or 999 year leasehold where the value could stay for a long time and even appreciate more the longer it goes into the future. a 99 year old lease is a depreciating asset, a consumable asset.

ns defaulters: the wrath of ns men

the feelings against ns defaulters are very intense and very wide spread if one is to take note of the number of letters in the media. it is an issue that is going to stir up as much emotions as the nkf. every adult male is affected. the parents are affected. the wives and children are affected. in fact the whole nation is affected. though we can expect the masses to have a varied response on the issue, i thought the politicians should be very clear headed on this. ns service cannot be compromised and cannot be bought. but this is something that we have set for ourselves and it will also be a noose around our neck. it will restrict the nation in its way of dealings with exceptions. how to welcome talents who defaulted on ns? how to welcome an exceptional talent who is young to be a citizen without the dread of ns? and how to welcome the likes of melvyn tan who have made good, to return home?

wp so foolish to fight in angmokio

a letter by a harry chia said that low thia khiang is so foolish to waste 5 or 6 candidates in angmokio. he is so foolishly sure that the wp will lose. no doubt i will think that the wp will lose. 99% sure in my view. but can people be so certain that tomorrow the sun will rise? the judgement is that it is a forgone conclusion. this is like god speaking. knowing the future. though i don't think wp will win, i still think that it is not a bad idea to contest at angmokio. let's not take things for granted. not to take the voters for granted. in a fair contest, in a fair election, you don't really know the results until the fat lady stands out to sing. why would people take risk, be entrepreneurs, try the impossible? singaporeans will not?

president's salary increases by another $115k

they are increasing the president's salary again, what to $2.5 million? from the perspective of those who are earning in the millions, what's wrong, just another what 5%. small change. from the point of view of those who are earning $1200, this must be madness. but then the argument is that there is only one president. so in terms of percentage against the whole economy or govt wage bill, it is so small. when a person is earning $1200, give him $1000, it will change his life. if one is earning in the millions, given him another $1 million, very likely the comment will be peanuts. and the money will not make any difference to him except to inflate the already inflated savings account. how a nation distributes its wealth and who or how many people will benefit from the nation's wealth is an issue which the academics will have a world of a time discussing it. oh, all the poor citizens will get some, don't worry, it is very fair. the poor will be well looked after.

is there a problem?

i am not too sure about this. but what i have gathered so far is that a born singaporean can only exercise his right to become a citizen of another country only when he attains the age of 21. this means that all male singaporeans who intend to take up another citizenship will still be a defaulter if he does not serve his ns. he is thus liable to be charged in court when he steps into singapore even if he is now a foreign citizen. cannot even be a pr here until after he has been charged as a defaulter. 'sway' to be born a singaporean. if born from anywhere else, malaysia, india or china, or indonesia, can come here and work as pr and be treated as a foreign talent. there is no possibility for the govt to accede to a request to defer ns pending application for foreign citizenship at 21. so technically cannot escape.

nkf to review its mission - khaw boon wan

i am wondering what is nkf? is it a national hospital with responsibility to look after kidney patients and the problem of kidney diseases at the national level? or is it a charity set up to help kidney patients who cannot afford the expensive treatment? from the way boonwan talked about nkf's future roles and responsibilities, looks like nkf is a national hospital with national responsibilities. then it is better to privatise it and run efficiently as a profit organisation. no need donations from the public. if it is set up as a charity, then it must be able to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients. setting up all the clinics and running at a cost higher or almost as high as a profit making hospital does not justify its existence. it is better for nkf to concentrate on subsidising the medical cost of patients from donated money. return or sell the clinics to the govt or private hospitals to run them at lower cost and better efficiency. (hi anonymous, trying to locate your latest post on this but couldn't find it.)

no shame in being poor - speedwing

i fully agree with speedwing that there is no shame is being poor. often in life a person is dealt a poor hand and got to live with it and make the best out of it. for the religious, there are many reasons for life to be this way or that way. society has looked at poverty differently. and there is often the intent to want to help, but just enough for the poor to continue to eke out a living, to extend their life in misery. no poor people can expect society to feed them and cloth them and to live well. but the poor needs help and help will be given, on conditions. this brings to the issue of means testing. my personal view on this is that the poor is already poor. help them if one can. no need to humiliate them more by subjecting them to embarrassing questions. the argument that there will be those who aren't really poor but will take advantage of the help given is valid but not really that serious. this can be dealt with on a case by case basis. the people in authority somehow find it so easy and comfortable to ask for means testing. what is means testing? basically it demands a person to be stripped naked for another person or a group of people to see, to inspect his finances. i have seen some of the questions asked in the forms issued by charitable organisations. many were simply intrusive and out of line with the realities of life. but basically the questions intend to make sure that the person being checked is penniless, totally broke. how many are so desperate when earning $1,200 is now considered poor and needed help. and this is officially acknowledged. many financial checks are way behind time. but that is not the point. the person who thinks that it is acceptable to subject another human beings to this kind of humiliating checks must be prepared to put himself through the same process. many people have asked that the people in authority declare their assets. but it all falls silence. who in his right mind would allow people to peep into their finances and personal matters? if this is objectionable to the rich, then it is objectionable to the poor too. both deserve some respect as a human being. many poor would rather suffer in silence and in poverty that than to lose their pride. the recent case of the 3 children who missed school is only a drop in the ocean. yes, those who have may say, if you are poor, when your stomach is empty, when you needed help, what is pride? should society be so harsh and passionless to treat a person in dire straits in a callous and insensitive way?

your baby pays tax

not only your baby pays tax. your grandpa and grandma pay tax. your school going children pay tax. your unborn baby also pays tax. gst is non discriminatory. anyone who consumes goods and services pay gst. the unemployed are not exempted. the old and bed riddened are also not spare. all pay gst. that is why i called for discrimination in gst. there must be discrimination so that those who should not be paying tax should not be taxed. whether this be in the form of direct exemption or indirect refund or some systems, let the administrators go and think about it. otherwise, no one is free from tax. the young and the old, working or not working, all pays tax. is this what we want? this is uniquely singapore.

ezlink card: super efficiency or profit crazy

for all the students who have just completed their 'o' level exam and are waiting for their results, some may have proceeded to jcs immediately, and some may still be waiting for entry to polys. many are still holding on to their student ezlink cards. what has happened is that the cards have been reprogrammed to charge them non student concession rate without any announcement. and for those students who have gained admission to jcs, they will be happily paying adult rate if they did not check their cards. and if they do, they would likely have to get the jcs to verify their student status and get mrt to revert them to student rates. any refund? this is efficiency in singapore that is not only ugly but frightening. can't the authorities be graceful enough to let the children use the c0ncession cards for a couple of months till after the 'o' level result is out? why the eagerness to earn those extra few cents from school children? well, are they working for their own bonuses or what? so, are privatisation and profitability turning humans into mindless greedy robots? shall we pray to this new god called privatisation? are we becoming a passionless society where everyone thinks of nothing but money?

the fear of red

the colour of red is getting unwelcome. red invitation card, and hongpow. i was reading this article in the paper where the mother of 6 children mentioned that sometimes she felt unwelcome because of angpows. got to give to 6 children. and the wedding invitation card can be quite formidable as a demand for payment. it is not easy to invite your colleagues or friends to a wedding when the angpow is now $100 per head when held in a hotel. some even put in $200 per angpow. at the rate the angpow is inflating i think one day wedding at hotel will only be for the very rich. and one of these days the wedding couple may get into shock when no one turns up for the wedding, all because of the hefty angpow. why be compelled to attend a wedding and pay so much? then a $2 or $1.10 angpow is disappearing and people are loading them with red $10 notes, and some times more than a couple inside for the lunar new year. how far will this go before giving angpows becomes a frightening experience? should someone speak out and reverse this trend, when giving angpows is just a token for good luck and not pot luck. angpow should be reverted back to its former practice, as a goodwill gesture with a small token sum, maybe standardised at $2. the specially big angpows be reserved for children giving to their parents. preservation of a tradition and culture must not become so expensive and prohibitive that eventually it will kill it.

straits times editorial joking

the first funny article i read in the editorial of the straits times. it more or less suggests that a tour guide must also drive the tour bus, be an expert in both and thus earn more. this is called job redesigning or upgrading. so we have two jobs reduced into one in order that one man can earn more while one man loses his job. i prefer another approach. create more attractive jobs and paying very well too. from one job, create another two jobs from the first jobs, and all pay equally well. how does it work? have a ceo. then create a senior ceo. then create another advisor to the ceo. all big titles and deserving at least ceo pay. in one stroke it kills two birds. create more jobs and jobs that pay more. why destroy jobs when there is unemployment? why take away someone's ricebowl to give it to another leaving one without a job? it is hilarious.

ns defaulters: what is fair?

i watched the censored version of the debate on tv last night. not much of a debate actually. just some brief cuts here and there. the main issue from those for punishment is to make it equitable as ns is a vital national institution that cannot be undermined. the other side of the argument is to treasure every singaporean, defaulters or not defaulters. the latter group even go to the extent to saying, 'just tell me how much and we will pay' to default and escape ns. but there are the feelings of more than 700,000 ns men to contend with, and more along the way. any thought that anyone can buy themselves out of ns is a no go. i can appreciate the need to welcome back the prodigal son. no one shall be condemned to be exiled. the thought that the country may offer the route of pr for those who have taken up foreign citizenship and be allowed to return did crop up in my mind. be kind and generous and let them return in a different form, but not as a citizen. this option is good only if citizenship is so desirable, that citizenship comes with plenty of privileges, that people are craving to be citizens to be favoured by the nation. but unfortunately it is not. citizenship comes with a heavy burden and a big personal sacrifice. the cost of being a citizen is very high. a ns man actually gave away 2 to 2 and a 1/2 years of his life to the state. during this period he is owned by the state and have to go through all the training, regimentation, sleeping on dirt, braving the weather, playing with fire or weapons, and in the process, risk losing his limbs or life. and what did he get in return? pittance from the state that he probably had to ask his parents for pocket money. then another 20 years of reservist liabilities when his life can be disrupted by the call of duty. ippt, in camp training, overseas training, silent recall, on standby etc. and don't forget the military punishment, detention, extra duties for breach of discipline. can all these pains be worth it? is a fine of $10,000 or 3 years jail enough compensation? why would a man choose to pay so dearly for a title called citizen when he can enjoy practically everything a citizen has by just being a pr and without having to go through ns? is a $1 million bond good enough to pay? after going through the sacrifices a ns man has to go through, i think the new punishment is still not enough. there is no privilege being a citizen except the right to vote. to protect the institution of ns and the defence of the nation, the nation would have to live with losing a few prodigal sons. unless citizenship is so attractive that just being a pr is so disadvantaged that people would want to volunteer for ns. only then can the nation be generous enough to offer a pr route for singaporeans who still want to remain here and avoid ns. that is, when pr is a second rate resident while citizenship is first class with first class privileges.

help save our fallen talents

the govt is spending $1 billion to help those who are earning less than $1,200. would the govt be kind enough to consider helping the group of fallen talents, formerly very talented, many were managers and ceos, but now unemployed or become taxi drivers? this group, some in the late 40s or in their 50s, have housing mortgages, children in school, but now with a dwindled income as taxi drivers or some other jobs that really would not be enough to provide for their families basic necessities. and many would not come forward to ask for financial assistance even when they have fallen on bad times. this is the most neglected group and with the most responsibilities and needed the most help. maybe we should organise a charity show and interview them and let them tell people their hardship on television, and hopefully after a few tear jerker stories, they might receive some donations from the public. they are so pitiful.

voters will not vote out a pm

this is a comment by dr ho khai leong on the wp's intent to field a team at angmokio grc. why won't the electorate vote out a pm? such a question or thought seems so naive in the singapore context. the pm winning his seat is a given. would this hold true in other parts of the world? many pm's and presidents have been booted out by their electorate. why not in singapore? can it happen? are the people's vote so easily taken for granted, that the pm must be voted in?

gst: we need discrimination

is it right to tax those who are struggling to make ends meet? many singaporeans on the lower end of the income bracket did not pay taxes before, until the introduction of the gst. this is a sweeping tax formula that does not discriminate the people who are being taxed. it is super efficient as an instrument of collecting taxes for the govt and covers practically every consumable items. now all singaporeans are being taxed. this taxation through gst hits the poor more than anyone else. yes, it also means that the rich will also have to pay more in their purchases of big ticket items like housing and cars. to be socially more just, perhaps a little discrimination shall be introduced into the system to leave out the lower income group. they are now taxed quite heavily all because of gst. basic necessities like food and water, transportation, medical, housing and conservancy fees are all subject to gst. the amount of gst paid under just these few items will come to several hundred dollars. transportation at a monthly expenditure of $100 per head multiply by 2 adults and a child could easily come to $250 or $3000 per annum. gst payable is already $150. does the govt have any interest to alleviate the poor from being taxed so heavily? would they introduce some discriminatory rules into the gst to favour the lower income group? i think this is a first in the world for the poor of a country to shoulder such a huge tax burden relative to their income.

singapore's golden years

it was a time when confidence was high. everyone was thinking of a better tomorrow and actually expecting it. pay rises were huge and frequent. year end bonuses were equally enormous. everyone was upgrading and every residential project was swarm by prospective buyers. other than house huntings, the other thing worth doing is playing golf all over. playing in singapore and malaysia is not good enough. australia, china, thailand and other distant golf courses were frequented by singaporeans. those were the good times. the golden years of singapore. when i was told that, i thought otherwise. there were more golden years to come. that was just the beginning. a peek to what more good things will come the singaporean way. but we also wondered whether that would be the end. and it seemed so. it came so fast and furious, only about 10 years ago and vanished in less than 10 years. now what happens? even hdb flats nobody wants. selling cheap also no takers. and the govt has to give out $1 billion to help 240,000 people, countables, who are in hard times. the number of not countables and facing hard times is unknown. but the rich are getting richer and faster. the ugly face of greed is popping out everywhere. a huge house build on weak foundation will collapse on its own weight.

renaisance in science and technology

the world is on fire, firing all three engines instead of 2 and 1/4. for the last few centuries the advancement of science and technology was basically supported by the european civilisation. then this splitted with a strong branch growing in the usa and a little branch in japan. today, usa, europe and asia are pulling in their weights together with china, india and korea joining japan as the full asian branch. with all three engines firing together, the rate of growth and progress in science and technology are likely to be in leaps and bounds. the impetus of such a powerful combination of human energy and resources can propel the world at a pace not seen in history. however, these energy must be carefully harnessed for peaceful economic growth and competition and not in war. the consequence of a third world war will be more devastating as the promises of tomorrow.

red packet or gold paper

i read that gold packet is getting popular and is preferred more than the traditional red packet for the lunar new year. one of the reasons may be novelty, to be different. and gold seems a more expensive item to hold. and gold prices is surging again. why not give gold packet instead of red packet? this reminds me of the attempt to have tiger dance instead of lion dance in malaysia a few years back. in their craze for something different, to be different, to be creative i supposed, people will try out new ideas. but trying out new things must be a result of improving something and not going backwards. the idea of fuzzy logic is good for those who build it from a base of logic. otherwise fuzzy logic is nonsense. all the man in the street has fuzzy logic as their thinking and thoughts are unstructured and totally fuzzy, with no logic. what has this got to do with changing angpow to kim cua(gold paper) or next time geen cua(silver paper)? a lion dance is built on the fabled and mystical lion which is an auspicious animal. the tiger in the chinese tradition is a vicious animal and anything but auspicious. during chinese new year there will be lion dances to ward away bad luck and welcome good fortune. tiger is most inappropriate for such purposes. the red packet, the colour of red during the lunar new year is also for a specific purpose. to ward off bad luck and the mystical beast or nian. red is everywhere, in clothing, pasted on the side of doors, in food presentation, and of course red packet for good luck and protection. red is more than a colour of choice but with traditional significance. what's wrong with kim cua? nothing wrong unless the mind wanders a little to include geen cua. kim cua is used in prayers to the deities and geen cua for the dead. sometimes kim cua is also burnt for the dead. how does it sound giving kim cua on chinese new year? last year when we gave kim cua or gold packets, we did received some not very favourable comments. some people may be offended by it on such an auspicious day when saying the right thing, right words and right sound mean so much. it will be disastrous if someone utters the word kim cua instead of kimpow. the latter is so unfamiliar while kim cua is a common usage and may be splurted out. happy chinese new year!

speaking the truth loudly, by adverts

Derogatory Adverts By Paul Chan's 'The Craftsman's Forge'This ad "How long more must I take this bus to work?" upsets some commuters.Jan 13, 2006 I saw an advert on my drive to work today which made me a little indignant with the people who put up the advert. As you can see from the photo, OCBC seems to think that its shameful to take a bus. ... The advert screams out to people outside to compare themselves to the “unsuccessful people sitting in the bus. How much more insensitive and derogatory can one get? I hope the advertisement censors get to this really soon. I don’t have a problem with OCBC trying to drum up business for its wealth management portfolios. Just don’t do it by putting people down. the above comment is by seah chiang nee in his littlespeck.com hey chiang nee, got to face reality man. when a man is poor he is poor. what is the difference with the naming of budget terminal? luckily they don't call the bus system and mrt as cheap transport system for cheap people. never mind lah. let people poke a little is ok. take it as a reverse motivation and work harder to own a car and fly by sia. and they can count themselves lucky that they will get a $1 billion workfare bonus. it is quite good and respectable to be a little bit poor in this rich nation. there will always be crumbs falling off the table. must thank ocbc for the motivation. see, can look at things positively : )

the impending attack on iran

allowing a rogue nation to possess wmd is a nightmare. the concept is a very powerful one. many will be easily frighten by the possibility of a mad leader like hitler or bush who will be trigger happy to use it anytime he pleases. iran must not be allowed to own nuclear weapons. on the other hand, who is the rightful person or state to pin a rouge nation title on any country? who is morally good enough to earn that right? the next question is, why are some nations allowed to own wmd and some not allowed? why are are some allowed to threaten others with war and some not allowed? the israelis are very confident that they will be able to launch a successful attack on iran's nuclear facility. success always builds confidence, some times blind arrogance. we have done it and we will continue to do it successfully. our formula works the last few times and will work again and again. the opposition are weak and unable to think of better counter moves or strategies. this is the mindset of all victors. they always think that things will not change and they will win again and again. the iranians were once an empire, the persian empire. they are not fools. just like the chinese and indian empires, battered for many centuries and written off as backward and unprogressive people, hopeless and no talent. today they have stood up to regain their places in the international community as respectable people. the uae is also proving that arabs are no fools. will the iranian be able to stand up to the impending attack by the israelis and the americans? and would they be able to turn the tide? iraq said they will be smashed. iraq is a good example to all ambitious arab states that they are poorly equipped to fight a conventional war against the mighty forces of the empire. but would iran prove to be a bridge too far?

2 votes for mature oldies a bad choice?

That restructuring has hit Singapore's elderly (economic definition here: any one over 45) the hardest has become patently clear, shown by the government allocating the biggest bag of goodies to them. Some media people call them the crucial swing vote in the coming election. The expectation (at least until the perks started to fly) was that many of them would vote against the government. That got me thinking. There must be some old-timers in the PAP who must be saying, "Thank God, we didn't give an extra vote to Singaporeans between 35-60 years who were married and had children!" the above is from an article by seah chiang nee in the littlespeck.com. in brief, chiang nee's contention is that it is a good thing that the proposal for the oldies to have two votes will backfire on the pap this time given their hard times. i choose to disagree. i think the $1 billion dollar handouts will score quite well among the oldies who needed the dole. and a few dollars will mean a lot to them. they can be easily satisified given their dire straits. no need to throw peanuts at them. hungry people are quite easy to please. they don't think too well either. many suffering from dementia. and if $1 billion does not do the job, next time can increase it to $2 billion and call it workfare plus.

insurance industry: how to destroy more jobs?

from a workforce of more than 20,000 agents to 13,000 today. that must be a great way to create jobs. from an attractive profession that provides a decent and good livelihood, many agents are trying to make ends meet. that is another great achievement. why has a flourishing industry that supports a huge and happy workforce been battered to a state that joining the industry is a case of no better choice? i wonder how many other industries are facing the same plight? maybe insurance agents will do better if they call themselves entrepreneurs. that title will entitle them to earn more and be respectable. is it because the insurance agents were earning too much and people begruded their high income? and they were able to afford big cars and big houses, which probably make people's eyes turned from green to red. one thing for sure, these agents or the industry were not in a position to tell the world that they are professional people and deserve to be paid well. and, because they are able to provide a good level of service and professionalism, they should be paid more than a peanut. i find it very odd that the insurance people are not able to demand to be paid well and demand to be respected while people working in non profit charitable organisations can demand such high respect and high income. qualification may be a factor, i think. they should create an insurance university and award all the agents with first class honours and doctorate. i think that might help. once they get the papers, their work scope can be that of a clerk. but all they need to do is to give themselves a big title and pay accordingly. people will accept that formula. the game will be different if the insuracnce people were able to justify their own value and income and decide how much theyshould be paid. they can even create more jobs with better job titles to be paid more....only if they could not be questioned. i think many insurance agents would qualify for workfare bonuses.

an honest answer from a blind man

why is the society of the blind having more members that are not blind? the blind membership chairman answered. 'when the applicants tell me that they are blind i have to take their words for it.' the above story was posted in the talkingcock forum. and i wonder why would these people with sight wanted to join a society for blind people?

singapore is a truly open society

this blog is the best example of singapore as an open society. i have written everything truthfully as they are. i have written about everything that can be written. is this not enough proof of our openness. must invite george soros to visit my blog.

budget terminal ok

someone replied that the name budget terminal is fine as it truly reflects the character of the terminal, for budget travellers only. ok, ok, i accept that. from now onwards all hdb flats shall be called budget flats or cheap flats. no more rivervale or riverdale or whatever. punggol just call punggol, sengkang just call sengkang. punggol lane 1, 2 and 3. sengkang lane 4, 5 and 6. so no punggol sixth avenue huh. budget names are good for budget things. cheap food courts, cheap shops. we can retain names like kopitiams. this should be fine. where is my blakang mati? sentosa? weird? can budget people be allowed to have a little illusion and hallucination? i remember the story when the poor farmer told his children that yellow sweet potato is called pork and red sweet potato is called roast meat. facing reality everyday can be quite painful actually. changi international airport for rich travellers, budget terminal for not rich travellers. nice, truthful, appropriate and pragmatic.

sports school, what do you think you are doing?

or maybe i should rephrase that and ask, 'parents, do you know what you are doing?' the singapore sports school is facing some dropping outs of students and coaches. that should be normal and expected in all schools and systems. what i find it hilarious, yes hilarious, is that the reasons given include things like the school or parents expecting the academic standards to be as good as a normal school. and complaints of too tough or not enough time to do sports training and academic training as sports training is taking too much time and too stressful. unbelievable! if our sports talents, or the world's sports talents are so gifted that they are so good academically as well as in sports, then they would be the perfect human beings. can it be possible? spending more than twice the normal school hours in sports training and wanted to do just as well academically? supertalents, better than all the talents in the best colleges? one has to choose either one to excel and spend more time in it. there is no way to excel in both. maybe one in a million. the purpose of the sports school is primarily to train sports talents. not academic talents. doing both or trying to do both is pure folly. if this fundamental concept cannot be grasped by the school and parents, then indeed all the education is wasted. just tell the parents plainly that their children are to be trained first in sports. any academic training is at best rudimentary. if they cannot accept that, better not to enlist them in the school. and the school not should try to sell the idea that the students will also do well academically.

soros called for open societies

george soros calls for an open society that is tolerant of differing views. when asked about singapore he said, 'obviously, singapore does not qualify as open society...but i hope they will be brave enough to take the next step in the development of an open society.' the ministry of information, communications and the arts responded by say, 'if we were not an open society, george soros would hardly be able to make the comment at an open forum in singapore, and be reported in the singapore media.' can both parties be speaking the truth? or one is telling the truth and one is lying? who is to be the judge. if infocomm is telling the truth, then why is soros, an eminent and successful man, obviously not one who talks without knowing what he is saying, making those comments. soros probably did not know the whole truth. or shall we ask the singaporeans who are living witnesses to the system whether they think we are an open society or otherwise? whether differing views are tolerated, when and where it matters. the most accurate way of putting it is by tommy koh. 'while the us appears to be moving from a more open to a less open society, singapore is moving in the other direction - from close to open.'

the health net that was not there when needed

quoting from a report by lee uwen in the today paper, the health feedback group assured sick singaporeans that the ability to pay their medical bills should be the least of their worries. from the procedural aspects, the system will first ensure that no one can be admitted without proof of ability to pay. this will actually take care of those who cannot afford to pay from being admitted. the screening process prior to admission is meticulous and unyielding. no money no admission. but according to a dr lee kheng hock, the govt's 3m scheme comprising the medisave, medifund and medishield actually was found wanting in many cases when the patients needed the assistance. each case is unique. but because of the stringent criteria, many cases were turned away. is that not funny? a safety net that was there but not there. actually it is not funny at all. so now the feedback 'group is now pushing for an integrated national healthcare charity fund to be established to act as a "safety net" for them and others in the same boat.' ie those that needed the net that would not work. 'it could be managed by community leaders who will focus solely on raising money. when the pot runs dry, the people will see the need to top it up. it will be like a community based "medifund" that acts as an additional layer of help,' said dr lee. cannot believe in system perfect singapore that a safety net needs another safety net as it is found to be faulty. how about a third net in case the second safety net fails again? what this portends to is that all the assurance about not to worry is not that comforting after all. it is like creating all the problems, ie raising all the fees, then create a series of solutions and found the solutions not working. so create more solutions again to patch all the leaking holes. why not go back to the basics and address the problems of high fees. bring down the fees and save all the effort to create all the safety nets with funds that cannot be dispensed out. does one feel encouraged?

islam to rule the world

Islam must prepare to rule the world, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd of theological students in Iran's holy city of Qom, according to a report. "We must believe in the fact that Islam is not confined to geographical borders, ethnic groups and nations. It's a universal ideology that leads the world to justice," Ahmadinejad said. i quoted the above from littlespeck.com. and i must say after reading it i have started to look more favourably towards people like bush and blair. at least i share more common things with them about life and material well being. i won't want religious police to knock at my door, home or hotel, to see who i am with. i won't want to be sunat. i won' t want the state to snatch away my worthless dead body from my family. i want to watch my movies and have my wine. i am secular. i don't mind other people being religious. but i would not allow people to force me to be religious and to follow religious laws.

make legal recourse available or more affordable

i was impressed by the son of jb jeyaratnam when he spoke as president of the law society. his main gist was to make legal recourse more affordable or cheaper to those who cannot afford it. did he overhear the things that we discussed here? i helped a friend to get a legal firm to represent him for a royalty case. and the firm was highly recommended to me by another friend. the case was settled after one hearing. my client was happy that he won and was awarded about $120k. it was quite straight forward. he paid his legal fee which came to about $110k. actually my one year as a law student had given me enough knowledge to know that the facts were in my friend's favour. what a great victory and great legal firm. my friend is still celebrating it today and everyday, with four letter words.

bird flu: god is kind

the bird flu is spreading all over the world. the casualties are not that high and it provides a lot of time for the human race to react to it, and tackle it before it becomes a pandemic and wipe out half of the earth. but looking at it from god's point of view, it is a warning against those countries that think it is ok to use chemical or biological warfare against another country, espionage or covert actions to damage a country's economy. god said simply, 'don't try, it will come back to you in more ways and faster ways than you can imagine.' chemicals and bacteria or viruses in the air will be airborned or be carried by birds, produce or simply humans, to all corners of the globe. no country can think of being immuned from it once it is let out. let us pray that no idiotic leaders will embark on such a warfare.

budget terminal, nice name

the budget terminal fits very nicely to the new budget terminal. no frills, just simply budget. and we got to thank them for not engaging a pr consultant and spend another $300k trying to find a more suitable name. and a forumer's reaction in the new paper, one steve ngo, was hilarity. i too feel the same way. it would be more fun to call it heartland terminal. then we can bring it closer to the heartlanders since they will probably be the people who cannot afford to travel in class and use the classy terminals at changi. and heartlanders can also feel proud to have a terminal name after them. and later they can change the name of changi to something more classy and fit the image of the sophisticated travellers. let me see, high class terminal? for high class people? or maybe spend another half a million for a pr consultancy to find a more suitable name. heartlanders' idea of a high class name may not be appropriate.

hdb pushing out 400 units unsold flats to property agents

hdb states that it has 9000 units of unsold flats. assuming the average price of each unit is $200k, it means $1.8 billion stuck in these flats. servicing the interest at say 3% of cheap loan will cost $54 mil a year. and these flats have been left unsold for an average of 10 years, i think. this means $540 mil and on a simple equation of depreciation, losing 10 years is 10% of its value at $200k per unit or $180 mil in value. does this mean that hdb has made a loss of $720 mil on these 9000 units of flats over a 10 year period. and the losses will add on if the flats remain unsold? the figures are just guesstimates but it sure looks big if true. like i said to matilah, today's success is tomorrow's failure. what we think is good today could actually destroy us. the same success and failure story is nkf. because it becomes too successful, it leads to its downfall. hdb was a success story but then over built. our birth control policy was so successful that it has now become a big problem. life just go round in circles.

singapore top students not world beaters

this came from a letter by a dr huang shoou chyuan in today's straits times. the general argument is quite similar to what leong szehian wrote the other day. dr haung touched on a few key points. 1. very few top singapore students become 'truly top ranked scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, business executives or academics.' 2. these top students would choose easy courses to score 3.8. and 3, it would be beneficial and they would better benefit from their overseas education if they try some other unrelated subjects. i personally have known of many singapore students who are top ranked in their fields. and some of them are not even the top of their cohorts in singapore. for the top of their cohorts are now prime ministers, ministers, permanent secretaries and ceos. they could not become inventors or scientists or others as their career paths are towards government and public services. if only they were channelled to the other fields, these creme ala creme will definitely do much better. lee hsien loong could become a john nash. why not? and many will emerge as top ranked scientists and inventors from A star and dso and other r and d facilities. dr huang must take note that r and d is fairly new in singapore and would take a while to bear fruits. and i think it is an underestimation to think our top students would opt for easier courses just to score 3.8. they might take a few easier subjects. but their core subjects will not be forsaken. doing unrelated courses is always a good diversion and helps to widen one's perspective. and no one can disagree that it will benefit the student in having a more versatile and interesting student life. but it would not necessarily make them better scientists or whatever. no one who wants to push the frontier of science and technology can afford not to specialise and spend gruelling hours in their field of study. taking time off in unrelated subjects is only useful to a little extent. without them will not hurt. but unable to excel in their fields of study, to score As, will weaken their foundation in what they are doing. some of the frills and thrills of life can be acquired along the way as one moves along in life. the basic and foundation courses must be very strong to advance further to test and discover new knowledge when new knowledge are becoming more technical and scientific. spending a year reading the animal farm or about mozart and picasso would be nice but not really that critical.

mahathir should have come to singapore

mahathir's heart is no good and has gone to ask the americans to make it good again. this could be his costly mistake given his pro arab and anti jewish stand. many arab leaders have been poisoned and died because of similar stand. and mahathir, despite all his wisdom and political acumen, chose to go to the usa instead of singapore. an after thought. it is better that he does not come here. singapore will have many things to answer should the operation fail.

the beauty of self deception

i read this article about how much people are willing to spend to look young and gorgeous. and the extent they are prepared to go, under the knife. all for people to say, 'ah, you look so good.' or 'ah, you look so young for your age.' the former may be a bit difficult to achieve and need to spend effort and money. the second is so easy to get by. if you are 50 and look 50, just tell whoever that you are 65. and 'ah, you look so young for your age.' so whatever age you are, just add another 10 to 15 years and you will get your 'ahhs.' it feels so good to look younger.

creative's zen vision M is number ONE

creative's zen vision m won the best product prize at the international consumers electronic show 2006 organised by cnet. it beats all the korean and japanese products of bigger names. well done creative. ipod did not come into the picture as it did not participate in the event. the zen vision m won on many of its features and technical specs. i have commented earlier that the zen product is anything but zen. this is based only on its appearance. nothing about its quality. the ipod is really zen like in look. features wise i will leave them to the technical people. when put together under the microscope who will emerge the winner is another story. but creative has won in cnet and can at worst be number two, if not triumphs again. hey creative beats iriver and brands like sony, panasonic, toshiba etc. wow! the team in creative that develop this product needs a pat on the back. forget about the guinness book of record. this is what i meant by useful talents. this is real.

the spray gropers in orchard road

seah chiang nee wrote about the foreign workers groping local girls in orchard road and the fear of a reprisal by our local gangs. and a similar showdown like sydney. i bet some of the local gangs, the ah bengs, are already planning to hit back. how can foreign workers come to our homeground to molest our ah lians? they will be whacked this time round if they dare to repeat their folly. and our friendly foreign workers policies will come into question. for if the foreign workers were to gang up, it is not going to be like sydney. it will be sydney a 100 times worst. there are so many of them, hungry men, lonely men and village mentality. it can be very ugly. the message must be passed quickly to the foreign workers to stop their nonsense. better still for those caught to be despatched immediately and with a lot of publicity as a deterrence. don't try to imagine what it would be like if 100,000 foreign workers riot in orchard road.

northstar v

the emergency drill conducted on sunday is something that singapore is very good at. our uniformed groups and the civil servants are highly efficient when come to matters like security. we can expect them to be ahead of things, things that can be planned will be carefully planned. so many agencies were tested on sunday. it was a very comprehensive and well thought of exercise. and given the number of people involved, the complexities of events and people, it can be very chaotic even as a drill. just imagine when it is real. the tension, anxiety, panic and nervousness, and fear, will be ten fold. i was thinking, what would happen if, just before the first simulated bomb blows off, a call came from a non exercise station telling the controller that it is the real thing. a bomb has exploded in say jurong east and there were casualties. caught in the midst of a major exercise and a call came in and it is real. the authentication and confirmation and the redirection of the forces to a real and new destination can be a very massive exercise. let us pray that it will not happen. somehow i think it will, only when.

let's start a charity - a proposal

as i meditate, there is nagging concern that something needs to be done for the poor kidney patients. it is, or it was the only charity that i regularly donated until i stopped a few years back. i did received many thank you letters from durai before. i find it unacceptable for people to have to pay to live. we pay for our food. everyone pays for food. but why should this group of people pay for dialysis without which they would die? and the dialysis is not cheap. it is a life sentence that they did not inflict on themselves, unlike aids or some diseases that you went out to court it. we now know that private hospital is charging $180 per dialysis. the new nkf charges $162. working on these two numbers, if we can start a charity that subsidises the full amount, or the patients need only pay whatever they can afford up to a maximum of $50, would not that be helpful? the donors money is like god's money. the money comes from the heart, never ending. the intent is to help. we should help the willing donors to process their money to the needy with minimum cost. if the patients cannot afford to pay a single cent, the charity must be able to pick up the full tab. the charity shall support as many patients as the donors are forthcoming and the fund is available. mission: to provide subsidies to kidney patients for dialysis treatment as much as the charity can afford. concept: the charity is to be run by volunteers who need not be paid market rate salary. all volunteers may be given an honorarium for their charitable work. only 20% of the donation shall be set aside as expenses, which will include honorarium, refreshment and transportation for the volunteers. no need to build hospitals or clinics. maybe no need for an office. but if funds allowed, a small office will do as the function of the charity is only to process funds, applications and administration of the patient and charity records. thus the operating cost of such a charity is very minimum. 80% of all donations shall go towards subsidising the dialysis fee. no other hidden cost, no big manpower bill, no big organisation to feed, no medical staff. maybe a few full time admin staff, if necessary. the patients can be referred to the charity from members of parliament or any charitable organisations. they will do the processing and screening for eligibility. a kidney patient is a kidney patient. this no one can hide. and all payments shall be directly paid to the hospitals or nkf or kdf or whichever approved providers. when to start: all those who are reading this can actually sound out to potential donors whether the concept is acceptable and ask for an indication of intent to donate to the charity. no collection of donation until the charity is officially approved and registered. ideally we would like to have donors donating like the lifedrop scheme of nkf. this we should thank durai for his concept. when the concept is well accepted and there are sufficient donors willing to come on board, some of you can come forward and volunteer to be founding members and sit in the board. warning, no big fees. only 20% of donations will be set aside to defray all expenses. all expenses and payments will be fully accountable and transparent. and if the charity really kicks off and substantial funds are flowing in, this 20% may be further reduced. this is a charity and people coming forward shall see their rewards in the service they provide to help the needy patients. ALL OF YOU WHO HAPPENS TO READ THIS, PLEASE PASS THE WORD AROUND. WE WILL USE THIS BLOG INITIALLY AS THE SOUNDING BOARD AND FOR FEEDBACK. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN REALLY DO SOMETHING AFTER ALL THE TALKS. REDBEAN.

in the real world, how good are you?

Education Great up to a point. Singapore's students are brilliant in math-science tests; American kids test much worse but do better in the real world. Why? Fareed Zakaria, NewsweekJan 6, 2006. i pick the above quote from littlespeck.com. what i would like to add, yes, in the real world, if you have a billionaire father, do you need to be very smart to run one of his companies? but if you don't have a billionaire father, or if your billionaire father is not too confident of himself or you, then he will employ an american who is so so but was made a ceo by his father to be ceo in your father's company. and you will have to smell his arse even if you have straight As. this is the real world.

not cost effective charity organisation has no right to exist

i was pondering over the two figures of dialysis treatment cost quoted in my earlier posting. $180 in a profit making hospital against $162 at nkf. the difference is really peanuts if one is subsidised by public donations, the govt and the charges paid by the patients. my main point of argument is that a charity set up with the help of public fund to help the needy must be able to reduce the burden of the cost of treatment very substantially, maybe down to 10% or 30% of what a profit making hospital or govt hospital is charging. what is the point of setting up a duplicate facility only to cut the cost to the patients by 10 or 20%? taking the nkf as an example, would it be a more cost effective charity if it does away with all its clinics and infrastructure and retains only the fund raising and administrative function to manage and disburse the funds to the patients? with all the cost reduced to maybe less than 10% of what it spends for the clinics, medical supplies, medical staff etc, would it be able to give or subsidise each patient the $180 charged by a profit making hospital? and the patients could actually be fully subsidised by the donations. isn't this what a charity should be doing, paying as much as it can for the needy patients? i am not sure if the nkf fund could subsidise the full $180. but definitely it could subsidise quite a big portion of this if it does not need to operate and pay for its huge medical facilities and operations. and this is applicable to all cost ineffective and inefficient charity organisations. they should not set up any facility and charge almost the same as a profit making or govt built facilities. just collect the donations and reimburse or subsidise the patients and needy recipients. if the setting up of their facilities only save the people they helped by a little, and if the amount of savings to these people is substantial without having their own set up, then they should do away with their facilities. let the experts in their fields manage the facilities at the most cost effective way. yeah, privatisation and efficiency and cost consciousness. charities shall just concentrate on disbursing funds to benefit most the people they are helping. if what they are doing is not cost effective, they are actually wasting precious donors money.

the stock market is on the run

the new year saw a revival of the dying stock market and running like a charging bull. this is contrary to what i have posted earlier, that the market is at the brink of a collapse. my rationale is a simple supply and demand equation. when the number of stocks, derivatives and other financial products keep increasing, and the number of investors and the value of their investments keep dwindling, the market will die a natural death through over supply and lack of demand. in the last few days we are seeing a surge of demand, with transaction value hitting more than a million daily. but this is nothing new as the same value were hit in nov but then disappeared again. the market is as real as it is unreal. the volume and value transacted are real. but they are fictitious in the sense that they are probably churned up by a few big fund managers or big players. and this churning will stop as abruptly as it started if there is no support from a wide base of investors. the value of a stock can be as low as the piece of paper it is printed on. it is a perceived value and the investors must be convinced that it is worth the money they put in. or often the reason is that the value is sustainable. this is only true when the funds continue to support the price and more investors join in the fray. the market makers must not pull out as fast as they push up the market. more genuine money from big funds must go into the market to provide the support it sorely needs. only then can the market's uptrend be maintained to draw back the investors. confidence in the market has to be built over a sustained period of time. just a flash in the pan surge can be dangerous if it is just a weak attempt to push up the market and support by talks only. the stock market is a very important institution in the whole economy. any mismanagement that leads to its death will have far greater consequences than one can imagine. we can only hope that people are seriously working to revive the market and nurse it to health. and the real demand in terms of investors and capital going into the market must be there. otherwise the bull will turn to bear faster than you think. so far the only major input into the market is the supply side, more stocks, derivatives, covered warrants, discount notes, equity linked notes etc. the demand side has been neglected. i see a little spark in attracting the muslim funds. at least it will boost up the demand side a little. let us pray that the stock market is in good hands.

who will be the decider to swing votes for the pap?

i was reading the straits times this morning and reporter lydia lim in her article suggested that the older and most affected group during the economic restructuring would be the one to swing the votes for the pap. she was referring to the unemployed and not too well educated populace who would probably be so won over by the coming handouts from the govt. this will be the biggest irony that can happen. the group that suffered the most and bore the brunt of all the high wage and high price and high fee policies of the govt, will now blindly vote for the govt all for a little handouts. maybe lydia is right. this group isn't that knowledgeable, unthinking, easily moved by an immediate gain. but would the lower income group, including these deprived senior citizens really come to terms with their existing condition, when they were hard pressed by all the increases except their income, to be swayed to vote for the pap? would the knowledge that not only their income did not increase, but basic cost has also gone up in every area and eats into their little income remain a sore point in their minds? would the realisation that they could not make ends meet and have to struggle daily to make every cent counts while people are all laughing to the banks make them feel any ire towards the govt? would the most affected group really turn out to be the strongest supporter of the govt. we would not know until after everything is over. at the moment it is all postulation and guessing.

charities are now big business

why are charities now a big business here? can we afford to do away with the commercialisation of charities? long long time ago, charities were collecting money in 5c and 10c. today that kind of collection is frown upon. wasteful, unsophisticated, untalented enterprise. what we shall do is commercialisation, beg in a big way, beg with style, employ super talents and superstars to do the job. never mind about money. pay them well or you get peanuts with monkeys. so we have today big charities as big business. the objectives are now different. pull out every trick in the marketing bag and get the money to come in. that is the objective. why can't charities survive with a few cents here and there? why must charities raised big money? why is money not enough in charities? why helping the helpless is now so expensive? why is there a need for such a massive effort to raise so much money? doing an ivf cost between $7,000 to $20,000. a new drug for heart patient cost $6,000 a month. it is called the behtahan therapy. oops it is called the bosentan therapy. a dialysis cost $180 per treatment and a patient needs to be treated about 8 to 10 times a month. let me see, about $1,500 to $1,800, in order to be alive. the advances in medical science, in medication, have kept many people alive. the high cost of medication and treatment have also kept many people alive. people need money to buy time to live. and these costs are so high. looks like there is no other alternative but to set up professional fund raising organisations.

chen shui bian and sun yat sen

i saw a big picture of chen shui bian taking a very respectful bow in front of a sun yat sen photo in taiwan, in the straits times today. i am just wondering when is chen shui bian going to make an announcement to remove all the pictures of sun yat sen from govt and official buildings? sun yat sen's stand is a united china as opposed to chen shui bian's two china and independent taiwan. is he doing a koizumi in taiwan? koizumi visited the yasukuni shrine and said he wanted to establish good relations with china and koreas, and will not go for a remilitarisation of japan. chen shui bian and koizumi have many things in common in terms of tactics and public gestures, and motives.

nkf patient not paying dialysis fee

the straits times editorial commented about this group of patients who refused to pay their dialysis fee as a sign of protest against the old nkf management. and they seen as disloyal to the establishment that helped them. what about the other side of the coin? being duped by the establishment and paid more than they should? but what is important is that the feelings of betrayal and anger are still very strong. they are not going to go away so easily. did i hear a report saying that the staff and patients wanted to move on?

talent meritocracy and exam meritocracy

'yours is a talent meritocracy, ours is an exam meritocracy. there are some parts of the intellect that we are not able to test well - like creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition. most of all, america has a culture of learning that challenges conventional wisdom, even if it means challenging authority. these are the areas where singapore must learn from america.' quote from sharman, minister of education, comparing singapore and american education. the first point on talent. what kind of talents shall we value? sense of adventure, curiosity, like spending 10 days in a tub of water? or the talents of tiger woods that make billions, or bill gates and simwonghoo's talents in enterprise. shall the nation keep on wasting money on useless talents? or shall resources be channelled to useful talents? here i am referring to national and public resources. private resources can be used by the private party for anything. no one to account to. challenging conventional wisdom. this is a culture that we sorely lacks, or we don't encourage. leaf must be green in colour. sky must be blue. put any other colours in the exam answer will be marked wrong. and all the myths that we have created are the whole truth. unchallengeable or your backside will be sore. challenging authority. who dares? putting up white elephant cardboards is such a harrowing experience. i think we are still not ready to accept a culture of challenging authority. but we can make a start by challenging conventional wisdom, start the thinking process in the schools. from primary schools the children must be taught to question. and maybe...actually questioning conventional wisdom is also questioning authority. but starting them at primary school will take years to bear fruit. it will give society time to adjust. it is the problem of the next generation.

fuzzy logic or suka suka principle

according to a forumer in the today paper, he supports fuzzy logic in the moe. his reasons, scholars must be allowed to take any course they like as long as they have a passion in the subject. or when a talented person has a strong passion, he should be allowed to do anything he wants. sounds very familiar isn't? spending public money to satisfy one's own fancy? my view is that if it is your own money, go ahead, splurge on anything. who cares. you can make yourself the happiest person in taking a course in sexology too, if that is where your passion lies. in the case referred to by the forumer, leong szehian, he was uncomfortable that A star scholars were told to buck up and score good grades to prepare them for r and d jobs on their return. and isn't this is what the students were told before accepting the scholarship? they knew why they were sent for their studies. there is a specific objective. why are people advocating or negating on their undertakings after signing on the dotted line? is it because they are talented and can do whatever they want, without any principles or ethics? in the first place, do not accept the scholarship if you have no intention of fulfilling it. it is a breach of faith. unethical and unacceptable. it is not your father's money that you are spending. but in the pursuit of fuzzy logic, to a point it is acceptable. for some special talents, fuzziness is good as they can then go wild with their exceptionable talents and perhaps discover a new theory. fuzzy logic is not for the ordinary men in the street. fuzziness is inborn among the ordinary men. they have no logic to start with and many things they do are fuzzy in a natural way. but i believe the moe's fuzziness is a managed fuzziness, intended fuzziness at a different plane. and certain organisations may specifically allocate funds to scholars under such a programme. but it cannot be fuzzy logic throughout the whole nation, at random. everyone suka suka do anything they want. imagine every administrator in public service applies the suka suka principle, or fuzzy logic, what will happen?

fuzzy logic and the moe

for many years we have refined our education system to be one of the best in the world. and when we are just starting to get the recognition we deserved, we are starting to dismantle it. the danger of what we are doing now will only tell in 20 or 30 years down the road as is being experienced in malaysia. we have to be very careful while we toil around with education policies. we need flexibilities and fuzziness. but these should be reserved for the fuzzy students, a small group that cannot fit into the general system because they are either too good or too poor academically. what are we having now? integrated programmes, no o level exam, independent schools, international baccalaureate, nus system, excluding the rest at the lower levels. in the 50s nd 60s, our education system was just a formal school system that caters for all. then this was changed and improved. we went through streamings and specialisations. now we are returning to the free for all system. do what you like fuzziness, in a way like the good old days. mix the good with the bad, make sportsmen into bright students and bright students into sportsmen. make all rounders. turn all the elite or academically brilliant students into average students? let them be a bit of everything. so so in studies and so so in sports. life if fun. do not put them under too much pressure. experiment is the key, try everything. we are trying with our future generations. if we are not careful, we will also experiment with the future of the nation. we will turn out too many fuzzy students with fuzzy thinking and fuzzy leaders.

nkf: review mission, roles and objectives

it is highly recommended that the new nkf review its mission and roles and reset the objectives of the various departments in the organisation. once the mission and roles of the new nkf is clearly defined, it will be in a better position to address its current problems and chart its course for the future. things it need to address: what is its mission? is it the primary provider of kidney dialysis treatment? is it responsible for educating the public on kidney diseases? does it have other roles? how much must it retain in the reserve or how much of donations must be put into reserves? how much should it shoulder? should it keep on expanding? what is its role vis a vis the govt? how much to subsidise? is it a charity or profit making organisation? is it a govt medical outfit or to support the role of govt in kidney diseases? should its staff policies be similar to a profit making organisation? how much to raise and how much subsidies to ask from the govt? what to do if the patients just cannot afford to pay? there are many things that nkf must take a second look and readjust its bearings.

chiam see tong too old, can't do much

this issue will be raised in the coming elections and have been in the papers several times. it is in the today paper again. chiam's, at 70, is considered too old. by who's standard? singaporeans better prepare themselves to work to 70 or 80 or till they die. retirement is only for those who have made it financially in life. funny thing is that those who have made it will also refuse to retire. so lets all work till we die. 70 is never too old. life begins at 55. the other argument against chiam is that he cannot do much. what he cannot do much is the redevelopment of the estate and upgrading, which everyone knows, is due to his purse string. he does not have the resources that even a non mp has. cannot blame him. and i think everyone understands this point. harping on this could backfire. people want to see fair play, level playing field. everyone is a tax payer and they want to see their tax money being distributed equitably to benefit everyone, without strings attached. no one will be happy if they are perceived to have their arms twisted. but if you are on the other side of chiam, all these are seen at political tactics, part of the game, nothing about being fair or unfair. the winners called the shot. and there will always be people who share this view as there will be people who share the other view. the election result will tell which group has more supporters. so far it has been proven that the people who wants to see fair play and do not mind chiam being 70 years young are still in the majority. and the only tactics applied to win over more supporters from chiam are mainly two. chiam is old and ineffective. chiam cannot give out goodies. but would the people see chiam contributing in other areas, like defending their interests in parliament, as more important? there will also be people who like to support the underdogs, especially when they are decent, honest and sincere.

ncss: appoint whistle blowers

benedict cheong of ncss suggested that organisations set up channels for whistle blowers or appoint officers to take charge of this function. the underlying belief is that the organisations will look after its own problems when there are complaints. from the experience of the nkf, there were many complaints internally and externally. none works. but it does not mean that all these recommendatios will not work. it will work if people want them to work. having these in the old nkf will definitely not work. and the reasons are obvious. you need a few good men to want to right the wrongs. but if everyone that can right the wrongs are the cause of the wrongs, nothing will work. any complaints will be buried or the complainants may even be punished or victimised. but if there are a few good men around, then all the wrongs would not have happened. or if they did, would be righted before they grew to such proportion. the issue now is how to recognise and bring in some good men. and also how the govt network of checks and balances will work.

whistle blowing

please read the fine prints. one clause says you must be able to afford the legal fees and compensation if you are sued in court. a successful whistle blower is like an entrepreneur. one succeeded while a thousand went bankrupt along the way. but the reward is different. one gains nothing, one gains wealth. one gains contempt, one gains recognition.

malaysia is a beautiful country.

the johore tourist authorities are in singapore to charm singaporeans to visit johore. it is a pity that they have to go to such an extent. johore has so much charm and natural attractions that singaporeans love. it is a natural getaway for singaporeans. under normal circumstances, all johore needs is to open its door and say welcome and singaporeans will flock there everyday. there is no need to drum up campaigns and promotions to draw singaporeans. just put the house in order. make the streets safe. curb all the crimes. criminals have targetting at singaporeans as easy meat, guests in a foreign land, alone, clueless and helpless when in trouble, and no one to turn to. there have been many cases of blatant extortions and robberies. even stopping singaporeans on the road and demanding for their keys and drove away their cars in broad daylight, in front of everyone. such incidents have frightened many singaporeans away. as long as singaporeans are fearful of the risk they are exposed to, all the money and effort spent to lure singaporeans to johore and malaysia will be a waste. just do the basics, law and order.

immersion, the nature of things

the new myth, immersion is the way to go. with immersion, the wolves will understand the sheep better and vice versa. get them together, and they will live happily ever after. god has created these creatures called wolves and sheep. and i don't think it was his intention for them to live happily together. each is specialised in his role. each has his own destiny. if humans were to put 100 wolves in a herd of sheep, very likely a few hundred sheep will be eaten or torn to pieces. that is the nature of things. perhaps one sissified wolf may become sheepish and pretend that it can live with the sheep and eat grass. 'when the lions eat grass and live peacefully with the sheep.' this only happens in heaven. not on earth. but humans are not wolf or sheep. that is true. human is all animals. a human can be a wolf and also a sheep. or a hyenas or a cow. the human spirit is very adaptable. it can be anything. but each has his own destiny. each is meant for different things and shall walk his own path. not necessary that they shall meet in person. they can meet in other areas, in thoughts, in policy decisions, in statistics. when the wolves become sheep or sheep become wolves, the whole eco system will falter and be destroyed. the way, nature's way is the way. everything will go in cycles.

malaysia must learn from singapore

malaysia has a lot of land and landed properties. and the rich have invested their savings in many properties. there is a huge temptation to jack up the prices of properties so that they can reap a huge profit from their investments, like in singapore, where a flat can cost half a million to several millions. even govt built flats can reach more than half a million on a 99 year lease. malaysia must curb this desire to push up the price of housing and ended up with high housing cost. once done it cannot be unwind without very nasty consequences. by keeping housing cheap, car cheap, and essential services cheap, it can keep the cost of living low. this will mean that it does not need to raise the cost of its labour and can remain compeititive in the international labour market. with a lower cost of living, there will also be lesser pressure on the people to demand for bigger pay packet. unlike in singapore, without a big pay packet there are just not enough to lead a decent lifestyle. but keeping a high pay packet, which is very necessary given the high cost of everything, it becomes uncompetitive. when the time comes for downgrading, many will suffer. malaysia must learn and not to repeat such a mistake at a national scale. it is very nice to hear of owning a multi million property. but it is a vicious circle and more is needed to keep up with that kind of price. at the end of it, it will price itself out of the market. the material worth of a person is not the dollars that he earns but how much can the dollar buys.

nkf, testing the institutions

nkf is no longer a singular isolated case of mismanagement, corruption, exploitation, deceit, and abuse of power. it is now seen as a test case against all the institutions that we have been led to believe, all the cornerstones of our clean and efficient country. it brought into question our world renowned systems of management, corporate governance, how we are able to tackle corruption, how power corrupts, how easily the people are deceived, and even how our justice system could end up serving injustice at the expense of the poor who have no money to buy their own justice. we are now a nation under scrutiny on what we believe are good, effective and superior to the rest of the world. everything is now under the microscope. will we be able to weather and survive this crisis and prove that our systems and beliefs really work. or they are all myths or poor and groundless assumptions that cannot stand the test of time. what have gone wrong? why were past truths no longer truths?

USA is number 1. number ONE war mongering nation!

with the looming attack on iran on the card, with all the equipment and personnel ready, what it needs is for bush to say go. and we will have war again, and many innocents will die, iranians, iraelis and american boys. sons of chicken george and jeremiah, sons of italian americans and afro americans. but not the children of kennedy's or the bushes. the united nations and the world must stand up to this aggressive and hostile nation's bullying. the world bodies must put a stop to war, that war is not an option among civilised nations. and the usa called itself a civilised nation. it is number one in the number of wars it is engaging around the world. is the world blind? where are the righteous and god fearing people who denounce war, who denounce killings and even death penalties, but let bush and the usa to go around killing innocent people in the thousands. and many will stand up and support the killings by the americans. the whole world is full of hypocrits. shame to the united nations, shame to all the world leaders, for allowing this mad man and his madness to go on, unrestrained. what is the point of scrambling to be members or permanent members of the security council when no one can deter the usa from launching wars and naming their enemies? why is there no free press, western press to conduct a survey to name the most dangerous country in the world? where are the pressmen? oh but the most dangerous countries are from the axis of evil, including north korea, all waiting to be attacked by the most friendly nation, the usa.

nation building, when money is enough

we are going to spend billions in upgrading and redevelopment, providing more recreational facilities and given old estates a facelift. we could pump in $160 million to add in controversial features in an already over used and over crowded park. the singapore incorporation is on a buying spree around the world, buying everything that is attractive as an investment. compare these to the 1960s when the govt's coffer is practically empty. when everything that we wanted to purchase were either on credit or foreign aid. when public facilities were basic and shared by the whole neighbourhood. people had to watch tv at open air community centres. one tv for a few hundreds when it is now not new for one tv in every room, even in toilets. back to today, govt could push up all costs and prices of essential services, passing the buck of personal medical needs and personal well beings to the people. forcing people to save monies in amounts that they have not seen in their lives. we are in a state of abundance. when money is enough, to the state. never have we so much money that we have problems trying to spend them. and have to agonise for the lack of valuable ideas to make these monies really beneficial to the people. monies are seen to be spent on extravagance, on the frills, and for thrills. on the other hand we have people who are really feeling the pinch. many people are in a state when money is not enough. when life is still quite miserable, making ends meet, saving a few cents here and there to cover expenses in other areas. when tomorrow is another day of adjustments and to stretch every dollar. why is there such a huge gap, where money is more than enough at the national level and not enough at the individual level? public policies and public administration, statecraft, and nation building, all have something to do with the well being of the people and the distribution of wealth and welfare to the people. are we failing in this area? it is unforgiveable if we do, when there is plenty at the state's disposable but not reaching out to the people. it is like the nkf, with $260 million in reserve and kidney patients are still being turned away, dying, or continue to pay high treatment fees with minimum subsidies. and that is called good management and charity. we need to get our priorities right. our national wealth must be put to good uses to benefit the people. hsien loong's new year message covered many grounds, the citizens, the lower income group, the older workers, the aged and the ns men, are all in the radar screen. we are all going to move together, sharing the wealth of the nation. the issue is how are the people going to share the wealth of the nation? how would the less able and not so well endowed be made to live life a little easier? all the monies spent on physical upgradings? are they really that essential and necessary to uplift the lives of the lower income people? could they be put to better use by directly contributing to relieve the cost of livings of these people? could national resources be diverted to areas that really counts, the daily cost of commuting to work, the food cost, education, and medical fees. would there be a rethink, that the state really has a responsibility to look after the people and not to pass the buck back to the people in every area? the people pay taxes, enormous amount of taxes in gst, income tax, property tax and corporate taxes, road tax, import tax etc. everyone contributes according to his ability to the nation's growth. some are exploited and the benefits of their contribution still go to the state in some way. the people deserves to be taken care of by the state when they are unable to do so. and the state shall return some wealth to the people by reducing their cost of living. a little angpow from nss is but a little angpow that last for a few weeks at the most. it is the daily chores and expenses that must be really looked into. we need to rethink on how to manage a nation when money is more than enough. do we create a system that results in many being unable to afford to live in and have to depend on handouts? or shall we create a system that is affordable for the masses who can live their lives in dignity though with some deprivation?

retrenched at 51 when hotel doing well

the chicken rice chef of mandarin was retrenched at 51, and at a time when the hotel business was picking up. or hotel business picking up but chatterbox chicken rice not doing well? if i were the chef and with a winning and famous recipe like chatterbox chicken rice, would the management dare to retrench me? they would probably beg me to stay and pay me 12 months bonus. why was he happy with a $20k retrenchment benefit? assuming it is one month for each year of service as is market practice, and he had 31 years under his belt, he will get at least $93k, assuming his salary is $3k. and he is not appealing to his union? i had a chicken rice at neptune a couple of months back. the same famous chicken rice and the same famous price. i must say, a $3 chicken rice in a good hawker stall would taste better. it's only good point is more pieces of chicken.

islam in malaysia

the recent tussle for the body of a hindu man who presumably converted to islam a year ago, and without the knowledge of his family, is interesting to show how far a state is prepared to go in the meddling of a private personal affair of the people. in this case, they have the clerics, religious policemen, the courts and the vehicles to judge and enforce the decision of the court. and they went to snatch the body from a widow to bury the body in accordance with muslim rites. presumably the cost is bore by the state. why would the state go that far to interfere in the burying of a dead body? why would the state deprive a widow and her family from doing their last duties to the dead man? the court or state has nothing better to do? how far could a state progress when they are so obsessed with the private personal matters of the individuals and went to wrestle for the dead body of a man from his family?

asians are disgusting!

as i read the article on racism in the sunday times today, the more i feel that asians are disgusting and deserving of all the abuses the white men thrown at them. the article spoke of the experiences of asian students overseas and all their unpleasant racist experiences. and after saying all these, the disgusting asians tried to explain to themselves why the white racists did those things to them. that tells how deserving they are to be attacked racially. for they have accepted that it is alright to be on the receiving end. and maybe explaining that the racists are suffering or feel threatened because of them will make them feel better. where is ah Q? let me just quote a few comments. 'jake feels that one reason why racist incidents occur could be due to miscommunication and a lack of understanding of both cultures. he said: "i have observed some service staff being less polite to asians. but i do believe it's because we asians are more reserved. so when we pay for our shopping, we do not smile, but just pay and go.' what an idiot! why didn't he attacked the whites as i believed he too did not understand their cultures and did not communicate well with them too? and when must a customer smile to a sales staff in order for the sales staff to be polite to them? aren't the sales staff supposed to smile to customers to get tips or at least make the customer return to patronise the shop? and he said, 'we come off as being cold and aloof.' that's it. asians, you deserved to be treated as shit. there were more silly comments from other asians to justify why they should be attacked by the white racists. so they should not complain since they are so deserving to be treated badly for being asians. another idiot said, 'if you think people are racist towards you, you should also take into account your own prejudices towards other races.' and the advice from jake, 'i would advise overseas singaporean students to not react aggresssively, be it physically or verbally. rather, understand why it happened and be cool headed about it.' for goodness sake asians, go and put your heads into the toilet bowl and flush it with shit. you are truly disgusting and pathetic. i would agree that being physically small and alone in a foreign country, if one is unable to whack the racist arsehole, it is better to walk away. but the reasons given here to walk away is really sick. you walk away because it is alright for the racists to attack you. and you must try to understand them. it is your fault that they attacked you racially. it is all your fault to born disgusting. the world needs more subservient asians to work as cooks and waiters and waitresses and to be screwed in bed for animal pleasure.