hota and 'phua park' business

In the early days of old Singapore, the locals dreaded being admitted to the General Hospital. Admission is as good as an acceptance of death. This is mainly due to the fact that many cases admitted were in a very bad state or in critical condition. Another fear is 'phua park'. In Hokien it means cutting up the body. This is taboo in the Chinese mindset. With the ongoing debate on Hota and how efficient the harvesting team is in going about their duties, would we see the same situation happen when Singaporeans fear being rushed to hospitals and line up for 'phua park'? For all the good intention and well meaning, a too efficient system in this, and an over zealous team of organ harvestors, would these present another kind of fear to the masses? Would the people become paranoid over hospital admission? We must respect the wishes of the dead. A dead person who signed the Opt In form is clearly committing himself into an act. How positive are we to know that the dead has such a wish if he did not opt in but was opt in by default? Without actually performing the act of opting in, did he or did he not opt in? This 'phua park' business is no small business to be dismissed away carelessly.

myth 119

Lower income group developing crutch mentality? Is it? In the land when nothing is for free, there is no free lunch, welfare state is taboo, when have our lower income group been depending on welfare and developed such a mentality? The Singaporean poor are the most independent and resilient part of our society. They either depend on themselves with pride, or if not possible, land themselves on the MRT track. It is those that earn millions that are developing a crutch mentality. To these millionaire employees, if they miss an increment in a year, they will suffer withdrawal system, they will become inefficient, refuse to work, they may go berserk. How can it be that they are not entitled to a well deserving increment cum huge bonus? How can they live without an increment? They would have trouble making ends meet. They will suffer a decline in their lifestyle, in the quality of life. Now that is the new crutch mentality developing in Singapore. A crutch mentality can only devlop over a long time of receiving goodies.

lesson from hongkong

The lesson from Hongkong Many have pointed to Hongkong as an example to what our lives will be with 6.5 million people. One thing for sure, our HDB flats are likely to shrink further. They have started to shrink in anticipation of the great and vibrant future of more talented people. Singaporeans looking forward to the great life in the future should imagine themselves cooping inside much smaller HDB flats. Oops, I mean the heartlanders. Those who have the dole can always enjoy the liberty of free space in their landed properties, with gardens and swimming pools. Definitely space is not a problem to them.

hota given a good airing in parliament

Hota is getting a good airing in Parliament. And hospitals are seeing an increase in people opting out of the scheme and forms are running out. One major consideration as pointed out by Loke Siew Meng is not to put the grieving family members in a sorry state to tussle for the body. He had opted out of the scheme. The recent case is troubling to many potential donors. The mental state of the family members is already in a very vulnerable state and to subject them to the more pressure from hospital staff who are over zealous in wanting to harvest the organs is appalling. The people have seen what could happen to them and their family members and it is normal for them to react this way. More PR works need to be done by the hospital to improve the image of the Hota scheme.

vibrancy in parliament

It is heartening to hear the views of MPs in Parliament yesterday. They are now more vocal and suggesting or demanding that the Govt consider the views put up by them for consideration. Hopefully there will be some changes to whatever that have been decided. It will be a very significant change from the past when any paper tabled will be passed lock, stock and barrel. The notable speakers yesterday were Inderjit Singh, Ho Geok Choo, Cynthia Phua and Ahmad Magad. Not to forget Lily Neo who had pushed for raising the legal assistance to the needy from $260 to $400. Now we are seeing some vibrancy in Parliament.

we need a referendum

The MPs are querying on the 6.5 million population and Mah Bow Tan now said that this was only for planning purposes and for the next 40 to 50 years instead of the next 20 years as reported in the paper. Mah Bow Tan also assured the MPs 'that the country's social stability would not be undermined, even as the Govt moves ahead to encourage more foreigners from diverse backgrounds to live and work here.' Can anyone really be in a position to give this kind of assurance? The issue of Singapore's future should be decided by the people and not by a few individuals no matter how wise and how good the intention is. To let in another 2.5 million foreigners into Singapore as citizens is a very serious change in our demography and social fabric and must not be taken lightly or concerns expressed by the people be simply brushed aside. I hope some MPs would view this issue seriously and call for a Referendum for the people to vote for their future and the future of their children. The present leadership will not be here to answer should anything go wrong. Remember the 2 child policy? It was too good and too successful then. But the negative aspects and consequences are now being felt today. A 6.5 million population is going to transform Singapore into a very different creature. Would the people agree to it?

myth 118

Myth 118 New HDB flats sure to fetch higher value in resale market HDB flats are sold at subsidised prices, whatever that means. For many years, all new HDB owners would be able to sell their flats in the resale market for a profit simply because of the subsidy. And for that, HDB flat owners are expected to pay a levy when they sold the flat because they made a clean profit. Leong Sze Hian's letter of his HDB friend in the Today paper tells a different story. Bought flat from HDB in 2000 at $416,000. Current valuation is now $338,000. Can't even sell it at $336,000, ie below valuation. And better still, needs to pay a $50,000 resale levy to be eligible for a second HDB flat. Oh, his neighbouring flat which has been vacant for 6 years has been put up for sale by HDB at $273,200. Even if this is affected by the racial quota, the value is indeed shocking.

hota debate is on

The Hota debate is still running Dr Arthur Chern and Assoc Prof Thomas Lew have replied in the ST forum to Andy Ho's article on brain death. They have quoted that so far, no brain dead person has ever returned to life. Quite a conclusive case that there is no hope. But they have also said that a brain dead person can have his heart continuing to beat and even some movements of the body parts/limbs. What is important is that the international medical community and all the authoritative medical sources have accepted brain dead as death and legally dead. These are very informative information that can help to educate the public on this very emotional and personal issues that can affect everyone. The debate is worthy to pursue and the masses will stand to benefit from it. My view on this is that though the medical profession and institution, including the law, have accepted that a brain dead person is legally dead, the people close to the person, or in some religious or cultural beliefs, they may not accept this truth. What is medically correct or legally right may not necessarily be acceptable to some people. The question is whether the medical profession or the law shall impose their truth and rights on the affected people. Can there be leeways to allow the griefing parties to have a say, right or wrong is a separate issue, when their loved ones are to be cut up and parts donated to other needy people? How could one imagine a situation when the medical team is harvesting the parts and the limbs are still twitching? Any anaesthesia? Any pain? It is like eating fish or animals alive for their freshness when they are cut up and still kicking.

MPs, please ask questions.

MPs, please ask questions. Inderjit wants more long term solutions to the GST and wants basic goods and services to be exempted. Any MP wants to raise the issue of housewives? I remember that during the last handouts, many MPs lamented that housewives did not benefitted anything and wanted to do something. Would they remember this time to ask more questions? Anyway it is too late. Nothing is going to make any difference. 1000 questions will be just 1000 questions and an after thought.

american version of freedom of expression

The ex chairman of Paramount Pictures was given an Oscar for her contribution to the film industry. In her acceptance speech she said that in America they honoured freedom of expression. People are encouraged to express their views and people need not have to agree. There can be disagreements. But that contributes to what America is today, innovative, creative, progressive and full of adventure and opportunities. America is the leading nation in practically all fields of human endeavours. We are talking about vibrancy. Can we be like America where people will come forward and express themselves freely without fear? But looking at how Singaporeans justify our special circumstances and be proud to say that this is what we should do with respect to freedom of expression, we can never be near to where America is today. We have to allow our people to feel free to express their views and ideas. Disagreements and contrary views are not necessarily anti govt or anti establishment. And we have all the laws to prevent excesses or defamation. I have seen an American putting on a mask of Bush and asking people to kick his arse on the street. Can we do that? Yes we can, as long as the mask is of Bush. Or to be safe, the mask of say some Kim Jong something. This is the freedom that American is unique and respected.

housewives not economically worthy

Housewives and contract workers Peter Fabian Andrew wrote about the budget not recognising the contributions of housewives and contract workers. Despite all the calls to honour mother and the importance of family, the housewives have been taken for granted. Recognition for them is at best lip service. Just like telling the unfortunate that we can empathise with them but it is their own funeral. In the last govt payout the housewives were not included. So is this budget. A family without a mother can never be complete. As Peter Fabian said, the contribution of the housewives towards the family, the children and society cannot be simply measured or ignored. But in our society that worships money, only money matters. Anyone who can work and generate a few dollars from society is considered worthy. The housewives that were given all the expense money by the family are not considered economic worthy to warrant any attention or handouts from the govt. This is the contradiction in words and deeds.

more vibrant singapore

More vibrant Singapore to come We are going to get a very vibrant Singapore thru globalisation, more FTs and a 6.5 million population and a caring and super efficient govt. We can see vibrancy in the economy, in the stockmarket, in property prices. We can see vibrancy in sports and international competition. We can see vibrancy in entertainment, more night life, resort style living and casinos. We can see people busy enjoying life, eating, playing and shopping. We can see more exchanges of views, discussions etc like the biomedical debate and Hota. I can expect many of the above to happen. I am wondering whether there will be more exchanges of ideas, alternative views and more discussions in forums, both MSM and cyberspace.

savings from shelved court complex

Shelving plan for an ultra modern Subordinate Court $462 million were returned to the govt when plans to have an ultra modern Judiciary complex at Havelock Road was shelved. How would this impact on the cost of living of the people? Havelock Road is prime land and the cost of such a complex will eventually lead to higher cost to the people. Even parking fees to attend court will be more expensive in the heart of the city. A fabulous looking building is not what the court and judiciary system is all about. It is all about justice as Subhas Anandan put it, 'I don't think lawyers care about the bearing of the buildings. The bearing of justice is what comcerns us.' I have a little suggestion. Convert a block of unsold HDB flats in Jurong West into a new Subordinate Court complex. As long as it is near the MRT, transportation should not be a problem for the ordinary people. And the over cost can be lower. HDB also can get rid of the unsold and unwanted flats.

Myth 117 Is CPF a saving scheme for retirement? After saving for a life time at between 33-50% of a person's income, many Singaporeans ended up with little money left in the CPF for retirement? How can that be? Where have all the money gone to? In the first place housing eg a 4 room HDB flat, will take away between $200k to $300 for a 20 year instalment plan. A person who contributes $1000 to the CPF a month will find the bulk of his savings going to the flat. How could there be excess savings when flats are priced according to affordability, which means how much the buyer has in his CPF saving. Now we have a better scheme called Medisave. But before anyone can save enough, there are all kinds of great schemes to spend this money. There are insurance schemes for self, for spouse and for children. This is another effort by the govt to plan for the people using their CPF money. Very laudable. But how much money will be left for retirement? Retirement is a time to spend money on self to live a more carefree life, not just about paying expensive medical fees to struggle to be alive. People will die and it is a natural way of saying that the body cannot take it anymore. Nothing to cry about when it is time to go. The artificial extension of life is not necessarily a good thing as it is against nature. What would be better is to make CPF and Medisave a voluntary contribution after 55. Medical insurance can be made compulsory up to 60. After that the people must have a life of their own to decide for themselves what is good for them. How can the govt compel the people with so many compulsory schemes even at their twilight years? Let the people be free to be themselves, to do what is right for themselves with their money when they are old and a little wiser. Can the people be allowed to be free during the last lap of the lives? Let's not treat the people as children for the rest of their life, to be managed, controlled and legislated on how to live their life. What govt control? Never heard of it. The govt is all doing for the good of the people, taking care of the people with the people's own money. Even after providing for their medical insurance, they still have to keep a large chunk of their money in Medisave till they die.

snippets on fts

Snippets of comments on FTs in Starblog appearing in ST. 'The main issue...is jobs. If every Singaporean is guaranteed a good job...do you think we care so much about foreign talent or immigration?' - Dawn. '...Yes they are from other countries and they may seem to be "infringing" on our "territory" but how many of us can trace our lineage back through the years to the local, indigenous people? Very few.' -Nick '...I was completely unaware that Singaporeans criticise foreign talent...' -Jaymee 'Hard as it may seem, we should try our best to be colour blind and learn from what expatriates can contribute to our society and nation...' -Maia '...I've always found the criticism of foreigners in Spore rather hypocritical. We are an island that relies on everyone else's trade to make our living...foreigners have been coming to Singapore and making a difference for a long time.' -Joe 'As far as I can tell, xenophobia doesn't exist here, in that Singaproeans don't really have a fear of things foreign,....' -Ju Len Simply put, Singaporeans are not xenophobic. They welcome foreigners. There are some concern when their jobs are affected. Otherwise everything goes. This is good and well without looking at the long term consequences of the existence of Singaporeans who have sacrificed for this island and called it home. When Singaporeans could not see the difference of being a citizen and a non citizen, cannot appreciate that the island belongs to them and they need to safeguard it for themselves and children, they are likely to give it away. And should the day come when the new citizens decided against their interests and sold this island away in whatever manner, it is only the Singaporeans to be blamed. Those who do not treasure their heritage deserve to lose them. I find this very disturbing, that a people is so careless about what is theirs and so unthinking about it. In politics, once lost, it is lost forever. You cannot hope that the victor or people in power will be generous or magnanimous to you. Neither can Singaporeans expect the power to be to run this place in the interest of the people. The future leaders can squander everything away. We have failed miserably in national education. At the rate it is going, Singapore is up for grabs by whichever group that has the patient, determination and purposefulness to take this island for themselves. Singaporeans could lose their homeland by default, for being too generous, and simply naive to the point of idiocy.

Ooooooh, someone changed my pic!

Ha, someone put his pic in my my blog. Luckily it isn't porno!. Hi your little one looks great. But I will have to replace it soon. Cheers

The Next Great Singaporean Debate

The Next Great Singaporean Debate The intellectual battle between Wei Ling and Philip Yeo was touted as the debate that could have the potential of generating great discussion in the MSM. Chok Tong also encouraged it to go on. But after staring down at each other from their respective corners, the fight fizzled off. No KO in the first round as it was discontinued. Now Stomp is heralding its greatest debate of all time in its forum, 'To fine or not to fine pedestrian using mobile phone.' It claimed that this is a hot issue. Fining is a great obsession in this island, bigger than Opt In/Opt Out. Both are our greatest problem solvers. Just fine the people and the problem will be solved, or simply opt them in. Would pedestrians be fined for using MP3, reading papers while eating as they risked being choked to death. Commuters in MRT could be fined for crossing the yellow lines or using mobile or listening to MP3 too. All acts that could endanger self or others can be fined. What about blogging and posting in cyberspace? A dangerous activity, really. Back to the great debate. Another one is really brewing. This time between people of the same profession. Not between a doctor and an engineer. No mismatch. The combatants are Dr Lee Wei Ling and Drs Patrick Kee Chin Wah and Wong Wee Nam. So no need to take snipe remarks about not being qualified to talk about the issue, Hota and Opt In/Opt Out. Drs Kee/Wong made this a public issue by discussing it in the MSM. For they had hit a wall when they appeared before a Select Committee. Any discussion in such circumstances, like within an organisation, will lead to a decision by the decision maker. Period. Not an issue of bigger right or bigger wrong. The one who calls the shot makes the decision. It is therefore appropriate that an issue where right and wrong are relative and subjective be discussed in an open forum, to be fully aired. After the first letter by the two doctors, Wei Ling replied. According to the last response by Kee/Wong, she made 3 assumptions. 1. 'given a choice, the vast majority of families would object strongly if they thought this could prevent their loved one's organs from being removed.' 2. 'the only incentive at present not to opt out is that those who opt out go to the bottom of the waiting list if they ever need an organ.' 3. there is 'a separate organ donor form where one can specify which or all organs one wishes to pledge....' Kee/Wong pointed out that based on the recent case, the families did not object to the donation of the organs. This proved that Singaporeans have accepted the fait accompli of donating the organs. The second, they believed that many did not opt out more of ignorance and apathy rather than fear of going to the end of the list when they need organs themselves. As for the third point, 'Amendments to Hota have already been made so organs other than kidneys can be taken. What we are seeing is the contest between being practical, pragmatic and functional as against being compassionate, feeling and emotional as human beings. We made rules for the good of the people at large. But should we make rules that are so clinical, mechanical, with no regards to feelings and emotions of the living? We are afterall humans with feelings, emotions and attachments. These are things that make us different. The ability to feel, to love and to care. The complicated thing in this debate is that brain death is still not conclusive and not necessarily accepted as death by the general masses. The medical profession may have its definition of biological death, the law may have its legal definition of death, the people may have their own beliefs of what is death. We are touching on a grey area that no one except God is the wiser. So, should one group of people pronounced their judgement on others? When there is room for doubts, or when there are strong emotions and pain on the living, can the law be more human, more compassionate? This is not a criminal case, or it maybe, if one day it is proven that a brain dead person could be revived and live again. In criminal cases, there is a term called 'beyond reasonable doubt.' Is brain death beyond reasonable doubt?

Opt In Charity for all Singaporeans and PRs.

Opt In Charity for all Singaporeans and PRs. I believe that all Singaporeans and PRs are good and generous people and will be wiling to help the needy and less fortunate. I would like to propose a National Charity Scheme to replace all charities. All Singaporeans and PRs shall be opted into this scheme and 5% of their income shall be deducted every month. It starts all the way from the President to the $500 a month worker. This will make it very convenient for all Singaporeans to do charity and be really seen as a generous people who really have a heart for the less fortunate. And no need for the needies to cry in front the TV for the whole nation to see. How's that? Of course those who think they want to opt out can still opt out. I will not opt out.

Signing up for National Health Insurance Scheme is painless

Signing up for National Health Insurance Scheme is painless The is as much as what the ST editorial today is trying to say. It is a great scheme and everyone loves it. Better still, it is painless. Just make sure you can afford to pay for it. And only $30! Sure the people can afford it. Just another miserable $30 for a safety net. Let's add up how much in total? Medishield for self, for spouse, for parents?, and now for children. life insurance for self, for spouse, fire insurance, car insurance, add them together, how much insurance cost will it be? No sweat. People are not opting in is because of inertia. Just make it easy for them. And the most innovative idea is to opt them in. So all in unless opted out.

no need medical insurance after 60

No need medical insurance for above 60 Why is medical cost so high and eating into our savings? One reason, other than a service where cost can only go up and not down, is our reluctance to let go of life. For those who have all the money, who have a wonderful life to lead, by all means, live as long as possible. On the other extreme there are those who would be happier quitting living. There is no need to continue to hang on to a miserable living. There is a lack of education on this aspect of life, of life after death. Everyone has to take this path and all the religions have something to say. Some good and some bad and some fear. People must be comfortable to leave this world without fear. It is a certainty and no exception. When the time comes, people must be allowed to leave peacefully. Keeping people alive, forcefully, or through medical aid, may be more harmful or painful than being dead, more unfortunate, more suffering than being release to live another new life. For those who believe that this is the only life there is and nothing else after this life, they are free to cling on to this life for as long as they want. This is matter of belief. No one is wiser.