Good times are here

The msm have been reporting that corporations are having a hard time looking for talents and will pay practically anything to the right candidates. And talented professionals could really call their shots on how much they want. Today the media again splashes the good news over several pages showing how easy it is for fresh graduates to land a job and how well they are being paid. The headache lies in the human resource dept. How to adjust the salaries of those recruited over the last few years and how much is enough. When fresh grads are getting $3000, $3500 or more, how can they continue to pay their recent hires less? And taken into considerations their few years in the organisations, how far should the adjustments go? This is especially sensitive and critical to large organisations especially govt and stats boards where fresh grads are taken in every year. For the average run of the mill graduates, no problem. No need to adjust too much as they can be easily replaced or they can't command much in other jobs. The problem lies in the talented and good graduates that they took in. These are their very bright future leaders and they can easily judge whether they have been shortchanged by the organisations. They are no fools and if the adjustments are not equitable and fair, they will leave at the first opportunity. Those who are staying or keeping mum are those that have not yet landed a job of their desires or under bond. When the path is clear, sayonara. Human resource administrators will have to review their recent intakes carefully and do the due diligence before a mass walkout is at hand. This is the good time, the golden years, and people, especially the young talents, will also want to be paid in gold and not peanuts.

Islamic State: The story untold

Malaysia is an Islamic State. Period. No one shall talk about it anymore. It is sensitive and makes people nervous. It may remind people of many conspiracy theories. It may make political leaders kiss their krises, or people may run amok. The press and media have been told not to report about it. And slowly but surely, govt agencies will issue decrees to invoke Islamic principles for the people, muslims and non muslims, to conduct their lives. Snoop squads will be formed to invade homes and check on the residents to see if they live their lives according to islamic principles. Though the supreme court is supreme under the constitution, all matters that involved islamic principles are out of their juridistion and referred to the syariah courts. There you have it. How could the supreme court or secular courts protect the rights of the minorities when they have no jurisdictions over islamic matters? How could the minorities seek redress in secular courts when these courts just raise their hands and say, not my problem?

Myth 151 - No beggar in Singapore

No beggar in Singapore Technically there is no beggar in Singapore except for a few baskers and a few rich beggars that make begging their profession. And we also do not believe in free lunch and no charity from the state. We are not a welfare state. The reality is that we only beg big time, and in style. Everyday there is news of some kind of begging in the media, or on TV, telling people how good it is to give and how stylish and noble it is to beg. And the proxies to all the beggars are the celebrities and the leaders, all dressed in their Sunday best and asking for donations. This is first world style of begging. We don't encourage begging. But if you must, do it in style in a big way. Why waste your effort begging for a dollar or two when you can beg for millions?

Notable quotes from Sammyboy forum.

We want the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. You want the tooth? You can't handle the tooth. Ouch, the tooth hurts. It is an inconvenient tooth. Just a little distractions.

notable quotes - mahathir

'When you're coming up from behind to catch up, you have to run faster, you have to make more effort.' Mahathir Mohamad Without the NEP the bumis will regress. That's what Mahathir said. With the NEP for almost 40 years, they are still behind. They have not made good use of the policy. So they must run faster to catch up. Who would want to run faster when there is no need to run, where money drops onto their laps? This is the irony of the NEP. It is based on the wrong assumption that people would voluntarily want to work hard when they don't have to. Like it or not, it is a double edged sword. It cuts both ways.

MOE, not 987

MOE corrected the misleading data It is 18% and not 4.3%. That is the official data, 4,218 foreign students offereed places in local universities, not 987 in the latest intake.

Myth 150 - Threats in Parliament

I read some postings in other forums discussing about Sylvia Lim being threatened by Jayakumar, a law minister and DPM. Now this is ridiculous. In a first world country like ours, such things will never occur here. This may happen in third world countries or in Taiwan Parliament, or maybe a communist country, but definitely not in our democratic Parliament. Further, we have carefully chosen the best men of impeccable character, honourable and intelligent to become politicians, they will not resort to such tactics to intimidate other parliamentarians. We will become a joke if this really happen. In a kingdom or in communist state where abuse of power is common and prevalent, these things happen. For those in power know that their power is forever. In our democratically elected govt, power is only for a short duration. And everyone knows that they can become ordinary citizens the next day. So fooling around with unrestraint power or abusing power can only be temporary and the day of reckoning will come when they step down from power. And such abuses are very rare if we look at all the happily retired politicians. They live among the people without anyone spitting at them or threatening them now that they have no power. Our politicians are sensible people and will not do that. Those people who commented about the threats are stretching the argument a bit too far. Nothing will happen to Sylvia Lim.

Let the religious have a say on GAY

Andy Ho suggested in his article in the ST that we should let the religious have a say on the gay issue. The religious is generally assumed to have a higher morality than the atheist on such issues. I beg to differ. Religion should not be allowed to interfere in state and secular matters. The Americans, though more inclined to Christianity, will not allow it to be part of the state belief system. It is best to leave state and religion separate. Every religion has their own set of strong beliefs on moral issues. And not everyone agrees to them. It is best that such beliefs be left among their believers and in the confines of their religious sacred grounds. No religion is superior to another and no religion must be allowed to impose their values and systems of beliefs on other people, atheists or people of other religions. There cannot be peace when religion is mixed with politics. Some extremists will emerge in time to invoke god to suppress the free will of others, and in the name of god, wickedness will be seen to be right. Let religion grow as a personal pursuit but not be allowed to become a national belief to govern a country.

Myth 149 - The Incorruptible Asian Minds

Asians are more superior to the Westerners. They are incorruptible to power and wealth. And these are the basis from which all dynasties and Asian empires were based on. So when they came to power, they will concentrate all the powers in their own hands, in the families or among the cronies. Another interpretation of this is that they believe that they have the mandate of heaven and they are given the right to kick the asses of all the lowly masses anyway they want. Compare this to the West, the Western philosophers believe that men are corruptible. The more powerful they become, the more corruptible they will be. And the American founding fathers refused to take any chances on the incorruptibility of man and enshrined into their Constitutions the separation of power. They don't even trust their elected presidents. And rightly so. Anyone who thinks that it is acceptable to place all the powers to an individual or office will be the first to be hanged. And no American will be able to invoke any nonsensical theories to dismiss anyone challenging the concentration of power in any office. And what is happening today in America is the best vindication of the wisdom of their founding fathers. Without the separation of powers, Bush and his gangsters will be killing all the Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East, plunging the world into another world war, and will get away with it, unstoppable.

Malaysia is an Islamic State

It is official and no need to beat around the bush. Najib has said it. Malaysia is an Islamic state and is governed under Islamic Laws and principles, but protects minority rights. He said Malaysia has never been a secular state. Only silly non Muslim Malaysians think that Malaysia was a secular state. Prepare to have their hands chop off when they steal. Prepare to close all the nightspots and entertainments. Lights out at 10pm. If the non Muslims still do not speak out and make a stand, it will be like 1955. The position of Malaysia becoming an Islamic state will become defacto and then dejure. The next demand will be sunat to be clean.

CPF for old age

With the increasing uses of the CPF savings, and with the runaway cost of living, it is necessary to decide what is more important. Is it retirement fund or a flat, or education for children? For many, their CPF savings will never be enough for any one of these big ticket items, and worst if they are going to use it for so many things. Ng Eng Hen is right to say that those who have a lot of CPF savings have no need to use them as they are mostly very rich and have a lot of money for many other things. It is the 'eat not full, hunger cannot die' heartlanders that have to juggle on what to spend and how much to spend. They are the ones that have little in their CPF savings but stupidly insisting on using them for the education of their children. But what choices do they have when they are struggling to make ends meet and education is not cheap? And there are many other bills to pay too. One good solution is to follow the policy of the old NKF. Save for the future and forget about the now. If they cannot manage their day to day living, it is their problem. They will be very thankful if they live old enough and see a big nest egg waiting for them. Their golden years, provided their money is still worth what they are and have some purchasing power left. These poor people are real irritants and irresponsible. Not enough money still want to take out their retirement funds to spend. Why can't they think and behave like the rich, don't touch their CPF savings? It it for their own good.

Priority tertiary education for locals

28,000 locals applied and nearly half were offered places. This means about 14,000 places were offered to locals. This is a big number given the average birth rate of Singaporeans at about 35,000. Hey, that is 40% of each year's cohort. Then why are Singaporeans complaining that they cannot get admission to local universities. And the govt's target is only 25%. The actual intake was 23.5% or 8,225 students out or 35,000. Where is the balance of 14,000, ie about 5,700 comes from? Is the intake 8,225 or 14,000? And how many of these are citizens? Locals are not necessarily citizens. Or can we assume that 8,225 are citizens? If this is so, then the percentage of non citizen locals, ie PRs, is 41%. So for every 5 students admitted, 3 are citizens and 2 are PRs. But the actual intake could only be 8225, as 14,000 places were just offered and not necessarily accepted. The numbers are my guestimates based on the data provided in the paper and may not be accurate. What is the real number? Also, should it be a local-foreign problem or a citizen-non citizen issue?

Princelings and Whistle blowers

Two letters by Chan Hwa Loon and Lin Junjie in the ST discussed about the Hongyi saga. Chan Hwa Loon was more concerned about the possibility of an attempt to cover up a princeling which is a step towards the direction of feudalism. That is very bad for a young and modern country like ours to take. Protection of princelings and covering their misdeeds is worst than nepotism. He expects the SAF to shed light on this issue given the rumours in cyberspace. The consequence is serious if we have such a culture in public services. Lin Junjie was more concerned about how a whistle blower is treated. If Hongyi did what he did out of frustration over an issue of favouritism and condoning a breach of military discipline, then his action should be taken as a positive act and be commended. Why should he be punished instead for raising a serious bloop in the SAF? Who else would dare to stand out and be a whistle blower? There must be an official channel or culture to protect whistle blowers who risk everything to disclose a misconduct or foul play. This saga has opened up a can of worms. Thanks to the brave act of a young man. Now should he be punished or be commended?

Tell your story

LKY wrote to the ST forum encouraging the first generation leaders and pioneers to write their stories as they are, as truthfully as possible for the future generations. He has openly admitted his respect for Chin Peng, a worthy political opponent. What is important is to tell truthfully without distortion, and to respect each other for who they were. A man worthy of respect is a man who believes in his ideas even if that was not favoured by history, and his principles. Once a person stoops to play dirty and disregard basic human decency and behaviour, he is not worthy of any respect. Basically it is still between good decent men and indecent men and not about talents or clever men who are crooks.

UNSW - The Angmo TuaKi Syndrome

The UNSW episode shows how vulnerable we are when we believe in the Angmo TuaKi Syndrome. Many would always want to believe that the Angmo will be benevolent and honourable gentlemen that we can look up to and adore. That they will not scuttle an agreement, pack up and run with not regards to the damaging consequences. That saving their own skin is all that matters. The govt should pursue the matter to the fullest and recover every cent that we spent on the project. Take them to court and sue them for every penny. We need to stand on our principles in negotiating a deal and stand by it. And the same principle must apply to our negotiation with those that are not Tauki but think that they are Tauki and would renegate on whatever that were agreed upon and signed. We shall not waver in negotiating a fair deal and will stick to it. We shall not succumb to tribal pressure and kampong mentality.

Sylvia Lim rebuked by Jayakumar

Sylvia Lim opposed the new bill to allow the PM to nominate two members to the Legal Service Commission and raised the spectre of executive interference in the judiciary. It reminded Jayakumar of the Conspiracy Theory of abuse of executive power. The last time this happened, an investigation was conducted and Jayeratnam was fined. Would we be seeing another investigation? Given the high quality of the people in political office today, such abuses of executive power is only a conspiracy theory. There are all kinds of checks and balances to prevent it from happening. Quite safe at the moment. Even in corporate governance in the private sector, when there are good people in charge, the present system will be more than adequate. For that matter, when a decent man is in charge of the old NKF, nothing of the like would have happened. It all boils down to decent men in charge. What happens if loanshark Ah Seng got elected into power? Or say a George Bush equivalent is elected into power? Can our system prevent such an eventuality? Are there enough safeguards in our system to prevent a rogue govt from coming into power? Given the past experience, the people has been proven to be quite naive and can elect any thing into power. This possibility cannot be ruled out. When that happens, and when too much power is vested into an office, would we be digging ourselves into a very deep shit hole.

$1 tax for use of plastic bag

Hongkong has done it. It is going to impose a $1 tax for the use of a plastic bag. The reason is to protect and save the environment. So the lesser plastic bag is used, the better for the environment. Thus to get the Hongkongers used to the valuable resource at a high price is a way to teach them to conserve the use of plastic bags. This reminds me of the theory on how to make the people appreciate how valuable water is and the need to save water. Make them get use to high water price by charging more plus higher tax in advance. We should apply the same principle in the use of plastic bag and follow the lead taken by Hongkong. We should prepare the people ahead in the need to conserve the environment, save gaia, and make them pay $1 for the use of each plastic bag. And we can excuse those who can't afford to use plastic bags for their swill to let them pour the swill into the rubbish chutes.

Political party manifesto 7

Political parties' support comes mainly from the poorer masses that form the bulk of the population. Without the support of the massess, no political party can come to power except from the barrel of the gun. Political parties have all the reasons to work for the masses. And the masses are the one that really need help from the political party in power. The two have a symbiotic relationship. Cost of living is a key concern of the masses. This is contributed by rising cost and taxation. The first will hit the masses very badly in every way. The second, taxation, is often skewed to favour the masses as they have less to pay tax and needed every cent to keep them going. Taxes that put a heavy burden on the masses are contrary to their interests. The pervasive nature of GST is not good for the masses unless it is fine tuned. No form of tax is good for the masses if they have to pay for them. The impact of the increasing GST will find the masses getting poorer despite the rebate. It will never be enough as life goes on day after day and year after year. In the long run the masses will still have to foot increasing taxes through GST. Why are there no political party fighting for the masses to modify the GST so that at least the essential services and food stuff are GST exempt? Why is it that political parties that claim to represent the masses and needed the support of the masses could so happily dismiss the plight of the struggling masses? Why are the masses supporting political parties who are not for their interests? Or is this a temporary trend, a transient phase that will be over taken by the basic realities, that the masses will eventually know which party is for them or against them?

How serious is profiteering?

There were little profiteering, very few raised prices. Now there are more appearing, and more complaints. The msm has done its survey and found only 4.8% of those surveyed raised their prices. Ask any housewives or any consumers and they will tell you practically everything is up. And if prices are not up, the quantity goes down. I had a personal encounter when the meat came in paper thin slices instead of the usual one cm thickness. I could not believe my eyes. I stared at the plate of rice and meat and the stall holder looked away. I know that that would be the last time I buy from that stall in a food court. But what is real? Are the people now being shortchanged by the stalls and shops? How much is a dollar worth now?

Li Hongyi - Abuse of email?

Thomas Koshy said Li Hongyi was a victim of abuse of email. He also said the matter he raised, AWOL, was a matter that hardly concerned the whole SAF. Does Koshy read the details in the publicised email and the problems raised? If the email circulating is accurate, it is not a case of AWOL alone. It is repeated AWOL and hardly any action taken with people treating military duty like a boy scout camp. Does Koshy know what it means by Duty Officer of a camp over the weekend? It simply means the whole camp is under the charge of a Duty Officer. He is to take full command of the camp. In the absence of an officer, the next person, probably an NCO, will now have to shoulder the full responsibility. What if the NCO burns down the camp and ransack the place? What if the most fear things happened in his absence? Dereliction of duty is a very serious offence and if this is allowed to continue without being stopped, I wonder what would happen to the whole system. Of course it is a matter that concerns the whole well being of the SAF. It must be reported one way or another. It is a case of a lesser evil by raising the issue to the highest authority since it was ignored at the lower level. By passing the normal procedure using email is a lesser wrong than correcting what he set out to do. It is good that the problems are addressed immediately and discipline restored. Can't imagine officers can go AWOL and taken lightly.

Perpetuating a tragedy

How to condemn your children to a life of misery and poverty? This seems like a textbook case here and around the world. For the illiterate, poorly educated, often jobless, the only thing they care to do is to produce as many children as possible with no thought of how to feed them and provide for them. Just read in the papers this morning of two often jobless parents with 12 children. Whose fault is this if the children continue a life of poverty, even becoming drug addicts or delinquents, becoming misfits of society? Is this the responsibility of the govt and the general public to take care of them? The people can expect the govt to help those in trouble. But should the govt help those who voluntarily bring trouble upon themselves? If the govt takes on such a responsibility, it will only encourage the irresponsible to continue with their stupidity and recklessness. The parents deserved to be caned for condemning their children to a life in the gutters. All the horror stories and tragedies are being set up for the future.

Buddhism is not a belief

Buddhism, unlike other religion, is not a belief, but a philosophy of life, how to live life. But to the laypersons, and the not so enlightened practitioners, even decorated high monks, many have treated is as religion of belief. The ridiculous thing about a belief is that one can believe anything if one is willing to. One can believe that the tooth of a cow can be the tooth of a human and adamantly tell the sceptics that 'All the time I believe it is true and I do not want to question its authenticity.' So get lost and don't argue or question whether it is real of fake. We all have different perception of what is real. And I must be strong in my faith and I shall not waver. I know that one must be strong in understanding the teachings of the old masters. I am also very sure the old masters did not teach the followers to believe blindly or that he will insist that his followers must believe in things that are claimed to be his. Such an attitude is bad for the religion and followers. Many would be turned off by such disregard of real and false, by stupidity to the extent of being moronic. That is why I always encouraged believers of any religion to question the truth and reject falsehood when it stares them into the eye. A lump of shit is a lump of shit no matter what the person wants to believe. And worst, making all the followers believing in his shit. Modern people of today have the privilege and advantage of modern science and technology and knowledge that are several thousand years more advanced than the ancient believers whose understanding of things that were rudimentary. When today's truth is obvious, it is pure stupidity to believe in yesterday's falsehood as truth.

My home - the toilet

58 year old mother and 14 month daughter in tow, Madam Hong's home is a public toilet in the Park. Her husband, an odd job cleaner, earns $600/$700 and sleeps in his work place. They have no where to go after losing their 4 room flat for failing to keep up with the mortgage payments. Squatting in relatives' place only last a while before patient runs out. We also have people who cannot pay their dialysis treatment and owing NKF thousands of dollars. To these people, the treatment is a matter of life and death. Some people may say that these are useless people that deserve to be where they are and it is their own problem. They fail to make it in this island of opportunities and it is their fault. That is a pragmatic point of view, and also a realistic one. It is forgiveable as a private individual view. But when we are talking about a nation, its govt and people, we are talking about a people like a family. No one shall be left behind cannot be an advertising slogan and not to mean anything. We are not living in the animal kingdom where the lion king lives supreme with his harem and there is no room for the feeble, old and sick. The weak shall perish or be eaten. Even the lion king will be driven away when he loses his teeth and has to wander in the wilderness, alone till his solitary death. Human society needs to spend some resources to keep the weak and helpless going. The other option is to terminate them and their misery. Every society will have the burdensome and the irresponsible. Every case has to be looked at differently and for the irresponsible, the country still cannot terminate them but to help them to be on their feet again. But make sure that they are willing to pick themselves up and the help is something like co payment. Help as much as he is willing to help himself. Otherwise $290 is also too much. The $290 is only for those who no longer can help themselves. The desperate cases of old and unable to work anymore.

Legacy of the babyboomers

This is the generation that sees the transformation of the world and this island, from war to peace, and from poverty to wealth. And they are the ones who are holding on to all the wealth and power, and not letting go. They will cling on till their deaths whatever they have, position, money and power. On their passing, in 10 or 20 years time, we will see what they have left behind. One thing for sure, they will be a lot of properties passing down. Many have several properties for their children and themselves. At the worst each will have a HDB flat. Their children or grand children will be the beneficiaries of the wealth. The next generation will not be roofless. They will have more than one roof or a better roof over their heads. Any demand for housing will be more of a case of upgrading. But there will be a net increase in the availability of housing/flats in the market and a dwindling demand for various reasons. Other than the many already well provided for by the babyboomers, or inheriting an extra unit, the population is not growing at such a healthy rate to generate a growth in demand for more residential properties. Can there be a continuous demand and a running away of property prices? It can, with another 3 million foreigners coming in to grab up all the high end properties. The demographic pattern will change. Today it is the old and new rich that are holding onto their landed properties and the masses in HDBs. This may changed when the bulk of high end properties in expansive downtown be all owned by foreigners and the citizens living in the outskirts of town. And living in downtown will be so expansive that it will be a truly foreign city within a city. Singaporeans could be alien in downtown other than workers in the hours of light. When darkness falls, Singaporeans will return to their HDB estates away from downtown. Would we see a day when the new choices part of the island, the new downtown, be a paradise of foreigners?

Li Hongyi - The making of a future leader

The case is now officially in the msm. A very interesting case study on the integrity of our system and the development of a fine young man. Personally I feel that the case is very well handled and with a lot of transparency. As for Hongyi, he is starting to cut his spurs. It is good to be young, to test the waters, get your feet wet and learn from the experience. We were all brash young things once. We have our own tales of innocence and flirting with the authority. It is the right of all young men to make controversial decisions and to learn along the way. The last historical Hongyi turned out to be a fine emperor. This modern Hongyi could follow the same path. Everyone should enjoy the passage of youth as a growing up process and to live to remember the good times.

Upgrading peasant expectations

We have made progress. We started by squatting on the roadside eating from street peddlers. We have moved to hawker centres, aircon food courts and into restaurants. Now we are even into fine dining. At hawker centres, the dirty hawkers would throw the plate of char kway teow at you, with the dirty chopsticks as well. And you cannot demand for anything. That was what you paid for. In fine dining, things changed. The cooks are of international standards and paid top dollars. They knew perfectly what they are expected to deliver. The ingredients are the finest and freshest. The dining tables and chairs, the crockery and cutlery, each piece may cost a few hundred bucks. The table cloth, the service staff, not simply waiters and waitresses, are specially trained with fine manners to pamper the diners. These are what the peasants must learn to expect in fine dining. And they need to upgrade their taste and attitude. They cannot simply accept slipshod services and quality of food. When the service staff are rude and uncourteous, they must be rudely told off. When the food are not well prepared, they must demand to see the chef. There is no excuses for poor quality. They cannot turn around and tell the peasants, 'If you don't like huh, you could yourself lah.' They may be peasant made good chefs, no matter. Professional chefs of international standards, and paid in millions, must live up to their reputation and deliver quality stuff. Anything less is shortchanging. There is no such things as asking the people on how to cook a meal. They are the experts, and they called themselves the experts. When the menu is for French cuisine, it must be French cuisine. How would the peasants know how to prepare fois gras or escargots? How would the peasants know what is good wine or higher grade vinegar? The attitude and expectations of both peasants and chefs must change. Peasants should be more discerning and demand for good service and quality products. And they must know what is good service and quality products. They have the right to demand. For they are paying top dollars for it. The chefs must have some self respect to do what they are paid for. They can't be expected to continue with hawker fares and shaft it down the throat of the peasants. It is terribly embarrassing for top chefs who can't deliver and still collect top pay checks. As we progress, everyone must upgrade their mindset, their training and skills and expectations. Then only we will have real progress.

How not to make friends?

I was staring at the Today paper this morning. And staring back at me, on the top right hand corner of the front page, titled, Where Money Talks, Some of Asia's least and most corrupt countries. Standing right on top is the famous brand, Singapore. Right at the embarrassing bottom, Indonesia. The thing is that there are many ways of presenting data that can help to blow our own trumpet without blowing foul air at people whom we have no reason to dismiss. Why can't the column just post the top 5 best and leave it as that? Or is it our nature to tell the brutal truth? I am best, you are last!

Myth 148 - The Golden Period

Many people will be turned off by this phrase. Many will sneer at its pomposity. Many will rubbish it off. But believe me, it is true. This is not a myth. We are indeed in the golden period. Never in our history have so many people who upgraded from HDB flats to live in mansions. And not only one mansion but another 5 or 10 private properties. And some better still, a few more properties overseas, to hedge just in case Singapore sinks tomorrow. With so much money to play with, they can have all kinds of contingency plans. Never in our history have there been so much wealth that $600k is rubbished as small change. And there are many people who have so much money that they can say, 'What is $5 million or $10 million?' And never have there been so many people bathing in money, earning millions and millions. If this is not the golden year, then what is? And the phenomenon is not only happening here. The same thing is happening in Malaysia. Many are also laughing all the way to the banks. Many have exceeded the Swiss standard of living by all means. For those who are left behind and cannot experience the golden ray, it is their fault. This is a land of opportunities. Exploit the system to your benefit. If you can't then don't blame others. I don't blame others though I am not experiencing any of the golden ray. Just not talented enough.

Infidelity - The Andy Ho Twist

We spent some time last week speaking tongue in cheek about lust and the sweet young things and about ladies night. The issue was how lusty and alluring these young things were compared to the more mature and experienced ladies in their matronly age. Who would be of more value to lure men to spend money on them in night clubs and to sought their company? It was all about how sex sells. Andy Ho has given the issue a new twist in his article in the ST today. He compares the value of the womenfolks with the value of aged women like his grandmother. Interesting way to include grandmother into the discussion on human lust. Now I am amused. Cheers Andy, for the humour.

Golden Period or Golden Era

There is a big debate going on now. No they are not arguing whether it is a period or an era. It is about who owns the most gold. And gold is what people should be going after. The prophecy of Matilah is coming true. The fiat money is shrinking so fast that once it took $1 million to buy a home, now it is going to take $2 million. Once it took $3 to buy a plate of noodle, not it is $4.50. Once it used to be $4 or $5 a trip on a taxi, now it is $8 or $10. The safest thing to do now is to convert all the fiat money to gold. Soon we may be trading, buying or selling things with gold when the fiat currency turns into banana currency. Good luck to your $200k or $1 mil savings in the CPF when you lay your hands onto it. Now you know why your savings will never be enough. Better to ask CPF Board to allow depositors the choice to convert their savings into gold. Welcome to the golden period.

Myth 147 - The good news myth

The landlord goes to his tenants with the good news. The economy is doing very well. Property prices are going up. But he is going to increase the rental by $500 a month. And another good news, he is giving the tenants 3 month's of rebates. So for three months in a year he would waive the $500. And a sweetener. Every month he is going to provide one packet of 3 in 1 coffee free for his tenants.

Why are prices higher?

Lilian Lee Pei Lin went to Shop N Saves and found that all the prices are higher than it used to be. And there are many signboards shouting loudly that the store is absorbing the 2% GST increases. A pack of eggs used to be $4. Now it is $4.08. Anyone needs a calculator? Wondering why is she asking 'Why are prices higher?' It will be more fun is Shop N Save puts up another sign saying 'It is good for you.'

A surprising GDP growth

8.2% yoy growth in the second quarter and economists are revising the whole year estimates which can possibly be double digits. That's a big surprise. Would there be surprising news for the people, I mean the citizens, the good kind of surprises? Basically, what's in it for the people? Higher income, higher employment rate, higher prices, higher costs? Would the better than expected economic data be justification for raising fees and rates in good times, quickly before the feel good moment is gone? That may not be surprising. Not at all.

Red Mosque - Violence begets violence

The situation at the Red Mosque left Musharraf with little choice. When militants chose the path of violence, it must be met with violence. Procrastination or appeasement will only bring on more pressure to the Musharraf govt. He is left between the devil and the deep blue sea and not between god and prosperity. The storming of the Red Mosque is like a repeat of the Tian An Men Incident. It is controversial and will be attacked by one side and defended by another. Once violence has been promised, it must be delivered to quell further violence. And it needs a greater violence to stop it in its path. Unfortunately, the violence of muslim militants will not be stopped by the storming of the Red Mosque. The disease is too widespread, it is an international problem and will be supported by international movements and organisations. It will never end until one party is extinguished. A similar situation is festering in southern Thailand. Peaceful negotiation is no longer an option. It is now a fight between God and Allah.

Political Party Manifesto 6

Education is the greatest leveller of our society. It facilitates mobility of people up the social strata. It is a relatively neutral vehicle to carry the people along and it must be kept that way. The citizens must be given every opportunity to take a ride on this vehicle without any obstruction. And political parties must ensure that the education vehicle assists and not inhibits the aspirations of the citizens. I am stressing on the word citizens and not people from all corners of the world. Doing a bit of charity for other people is acceptable but citizens must always come first. Violation of this principle is unacceptable if political parties are seen to represent the interest of the citizens. Provision of educational opportunities at minimal cost to the citizens is a key objective of political parties. It is investing in the people and the future of the country. This is different from investing in non citizens which is a hit and run option. Also, the country's resources are meant for the citizens. Non citizens have no right to this claim and neither any political party has any obligation to take care of them. A citizen's first policy is vital to the existence of all political parties.

Political party manifesto 5

No one shall be deprived of hospital care A motherhood statement that is politicallly correct to say but must be seen to be done. Means testing may be one way to do it to make sure that no one is deprived of hospital care and no one shall take advantage of hospital subsidies. Of course this is debatable. There are many ways to skin a cat. Maybe skinning a cat is not the right choice of phrase as it connotes the meaning of tearing off something and causing pain. There are many ways of providing health care, or there are many ways of charging health care. I think for political parties, the key issue is how to provide health care at a reasonable cost and not how to make profits from the sick. But both can still exist side by side, make profits to subsidise the less able to pay. At the profit end, there are people who are willing to pay and it is criminal not to make profits from them. At the lower end when people are sick and unable or unwilling to pay too much, it is sinful to force them to pay. Political parties have to strike a balance between the two and hopefully making one pays for the other. It would be nice to hear political parties come out with a position that B2 and C wards will be subsidised without the tedious and mean process of means testing. That people are given a choice to choose to pay little or pay more and the hospital facilities structured accordingly. Political parties should not have evil thoughts and mean minds to skin the poor and those who do not want to be skinned. The attempt to skin, the obsession to skin is bad.

Changi and NUH up charges

Singaporeans are so lucky that both hospitals have not raised their fees for the last 10 years. Finally, when costs are pushing up after 10 long years, they have decided that some of the fees like A & E have to go up by 10 to 15%. For the sceptical and cynical, they might argue that for the two hospitals to maintain the rates for 10 years without increasing, then either the fees they charged 10 years ago were giving them very good returns or that they were absorbing all the increasing costs and suffering losses. It all depends on how one looks at an issue. One can criticise or rejoice, complain or praise according to how one interpret the data. But the truth will still be out there.

CPF - Grabbing at straws

The Straits Times gives Chua Mui Hoon almost one whole page of the Editorial Page to justify why it is good to raise the withdrawal age for the minimum sum to 65. It is so pathetic. Her only good reason for not returning the money to its rightful owner is for CPF Board to improve its returns to the people. Who cares about those miserable returns that could not even keep pace with the GST increases. It is a non issue. Nobody is interested in the interest rate. The longer the money is kept, the lesser it is worth. The issue is what right has the govt to keep on holding on to the people's money? The life long savings of the people must be returned to the people at the earliest possible as it is their just reward for a life time of struggling and working. This is the last contentment for the ageing and dying men and women and no one shall deprive them of it. They have worked for a life time, waited for a life time, looking forward to this moment to breathe a little easier, to touch the money that they have slogged and saved all this while. How cruel it can be to die without seeing it, without touching it and without being able to spend it for themselves, to go for that holiday, to buy a good meal for themselves, or a little toy for their own amusement?

The strong Sing dollar

We have one of the strongest currency in the world. Great. Imagine what I can do with $200k in India. The thought of the possibilities is so pleasant. Find a little village and live like small Maharajah. Thanks to our strong dollar. Now the bad news. It is not even enough for my retirement here. Not enough even to buy a 4 room flat in town. May not be enough to go for a major operation in our world class hospitals. Barely enough to buy a good entry level continental car. That is the value of our strong dollar at home. Can any Singaporean with $200k afford to retire here? What about all those who have less than $30k when they retire? It is the good life,so bless to live in the golden years of this island paradise. I rather spend my money in the not so golden era of India and enjoy my twilight years bathing under the golden ray of my $200k. The rich poor Singaporeans. That is really stretching the dollar. Blessed are the Singaporeans.

When LKY talks about caution

Yes LKY cautioned that if we let our rental run wild and beat Hongkong to it, we will lose our competitiveness. We will gain the coveted title of the most expensive Asian city and make many property owners very happy. But that will be the last euphoria. Who is LKY addressing this remark? Food for thought.

No one be turned away for medical treatment

$20k deposit is required for a major ops inspite of medical insurance. This was what NUH expected from Rebecca Lim Ching Ling as she recounted her shocking experience in the ST forum. She was told by the staff bluntly that 'many people will tell me the same thing, and if they cannot pay, we make a loss.' The staff is right. NUH is not a charity but a business concern and they cannot make losing money decision. After making many frantic calls, Rebecca managed to get her deposit reduced to a smaller amount. How many people, ordinary beans, can afford to cough out $20k cash as deposit? How many people are resourceful enough and educated enough to make all the necessary phone calls to get the deposit reduced? It pays to be cash rich or educated. If not, just too bad. And you cannot blame the hospital or system. You want quality service, you pay the price. No one will be denied medical treatment. No conditions attached.

notable quotes from NKF Eunice Tay

'We cannot afford to let these people squander public money and rob the poor of their rightful subsidies.' NKF CEO Eunice Tay NKF is facing the problem of $1.8 million of unpaid fees by its 393 patients. One owes as much as $29k. Now this is serious and the New NKF is taking this very seriously. They have sought all ways to get the defaulters pay their debt and 'if they still refuse to pay, they will have to seek dialysis elsewhere.' Now this is the kind of tough business decision the NKF has to take. Owe money pay money. NKF is not a charity or is it, that can give free treatment and the patients refused to pay. They pay or go elsewhere for treatment. Tough decision for a tough problem. Shall this be a business decision or a human decision? Shall this be a political decision or a charitable decision? The patients do not go to NKF for a glass of wine or fine dining. It is a matter of life and death. Those who could pay will have to pay. Those who can't cannot go elsewhere as they still have to pay or they die. Period. No man shall be deprived of medical treatment because he cannot afford to pay. This must be in the manifesto of any political party.

Political party manifesto 4

I used to think that the people that form the lowest strata of our society and struggling to live a decent life may be just about 10%. With the shrinking dollar and a higher cost of living, this group could be much bigger. Any family of 4, with two school going children and has a household income of less than $3k a month is tough. And any family with 4 or 5 kids will need at least a $4k income to get by. For living decently in this island, we shouldn't be talking about subsistence level living or we might as well use the poverty stricken Africans as our yardstick, a $3k to $4k family income is barely enough. And if prices are going up, as they are expected here, surely, every year, the income will get smaller and smaller. Another way to look at it, for some individuals, is to say, forget about these people. They buck up and work harder or they live as they are. But political parties have to adopt a different stand from private individual views. They are to work for the people, all the people, at least that must be their declared objective. This must be clearly defined in their manifesto and supported by their actions. If they can't make it materialised, at least they must be seen to be pushing for it. There are at least 50 to 60% of the voters that will buy such an idea.

The unabashedly pro govt press.

P N Balji, Editorial Director of mediacorp, confirmed the unabashedly pro govt media stance and does not apologise about it. And the main reasons, other than a string of others that he gave, is money. Money is everything. And he quoted LKY saying, 'Once you have growth, all the problems can be managed.' Quite true. All money related problems can be solved with money, especially greed. The problem is whether money is used to solve the problems or whether the problems can be solved by money. What is scary is that money can buy everything, even the way media reports and its contents, especially the unabashedly pro govt one. What happens if money runs out? In the longer run, when all Singaporeans are driven by money, this drive for money will turn them against the interest of Singaporeans. That is for sure when all they think of is money for themselves and nothing else. Does it make any difference where the money comes from? Could foreign agencies provide the money for news that are favourable to them and get the msm to print it? Good luck Singapore. The other part of Balji's comment is the drying up of ideas in the msm to captivate the interest of its readers. With a press that is so predictable, focussing on reporting pro govt news, which may not necessarily be bad, what else is there to interest the readers. Where are the alternative views to generate discussions and thinking? Have no fear. The role of the msm is now confined to one of reporting facts and events. The role of providing commentary, interesting commentaries, opposing views, alternative views, lays squarely on the lap of cyberspace. The blogs and internet forums are the new sources of views on events and issues. Thank you msm for relinquishing your role and concentrate on what you now do best, factual reporting without views or commentaries.

The right to die

Visited a nursing home or a hospice? I assure you that it is not a pretty sight. My respect for all the care givers in the homes, paid or volunteered. Many of the inmates are no longer able to look after themselves. Can't see, can't hear, can't move, can't talk and can't think. And everything must be done for them. Is it a good thing to keep them living in those conditions? Are they living and enjoying life, or are they serving penance for a life not worth living? Many kind hearted souls will swear and fight tooth and nail to keep them alive and going. Life is precious. Anyone with a different view? We are not meant to live forever in this physical form. We come and we go. Different religions and races have their theories and teachings on what come next. Some may believe that this is their one and only existence. Some believe that there is life after death. Some believe that one's spirit lives on forever. The question is whether people should be preserved to live with such indignity, in such a pathetic condition, and celebrated as living. Living life must be living life, not suffering life, immobilised in bed. A lot of education needs to be done to prepare people to live and die gracefully and respectfully. People must not be imprisoned in their dysfunctional bodies in this world one day longer that they have to be. They must be set free to roam the universe, to carry on living as a free spirit. We have the right to live and also the right to die, in dignity. A lot of work must be done in this neglected area that has been left to chance and the opportunitists. We need some of our best talents to be trained in this field and to enlighten the ignorant masses on what life and living is all about and remove the fear of dying. Dying is the last act of grace. A beautiful moment to a new life. Dying is to live again. PS. Exclude the violent and unnatural deaths for they are not meant to die through natural wear and tear.

celebrating singaporean - Glen knight

This man had done wrong, punished, paid his price and live life again peacefully. He has come to terms with his past and taken them in his stride. He is like a buddhist who has found the meaning of letting go. He retreated from life in the fast lane and lives simply on the peripheral of civilisation, doing his things quietly and contemplating on nothing. The man has returned with the youthful enthusiasm to live life again at 62. You can see that he is happy and has no signs of lingering anger or unforgiveness. This is a reformed man, a born again man. Fallen, picked himself up and walks again. Singaporeans have a lot to learn from this man on the lessons of life and humility, and to regain self respect in the face of adversity.

Be mindful

I am not going into a discourse on Buddhism. Political leaders too need to be mindful of the life they want for the people and how the country should move forward. There is this opposing pull of forces to run the full capitalist way and the softer socialist way. The former will let things run their full course, where human nature and the law of the fittest survives will not be restrained. The latter, a more humane look at the inequalities of people and their social makeup that make them less able to pursue their dreams. Criticism of this path is that people are lazy and deserved to be in the doldrums. There will be such people, no doubt about it. Taking the capitalist road, a lot of wealth will be generated and a lot of rich people will be made. At the same time a lot of people will get poorer and less able to get by. In the long run, the pool of the very rich will shrink as they are supreme in their abilities to accumulate wealth at the expense of their less able countrymen. The system will breakdown unnaturally and there will be a new beginning. The role of the govt, with all the powers vested in their hands, has the privilege of being god, to allocate resources and wealth to the people. It has to be mindful where the wealth and resources are going and whether that is the best direction to take. For the last few years, we are seeing this relentless pursuit of money within the govt and outside the govt. The private sector, with money as their only motive while obligation to nation and society as incidental or not in their mindset, will push for the highest return they can get, at all cost. They will maximise profits for short term benefits and ruin the country in the long run. The future of the country is not their concern. Instant gratification, money is. We are seeing cost increases in properties, rentals, services and goods and salaries going only in one direction as if it is the law of gravity, that cost can only go up. The consumers will eventually bear the brunt of everything until they can bear no longer. Forget about the top 20% when their income will always outrun the rising cost and will not matter to them. There must be a price to all these. When will it stretch to a point where it snaps? It is dangerous to slow down growth by shackling the enterpreneurial drive of the able. They must be allowed to push to the limits of efficiency and returns. They are the growth drivers. What can the govt do to keep the less able part of the population more wealthy without increasing their income and pushing up cost? This is the other danger of losing our competitiveness. Rising cost will drive us out of business. Stretch their dollar! The people can live better and feel richer if the cost of 'their' living can be restrained and keep low. Housing, transportation, medical, education, food and essential services can be kept low to increase the value of every dollar these people. This will create a 'controlled economy' at the lower end when govt intervention is necessary to make life more manageable and without pushing up cost to an unbearable state. There can be two economies existing side by side, like two systems, one country. The full force of capitalism and free enterprise shall be allowed to run their 'full' steam in one economy and a managed one for the people who are mostly not so talented but needed to form the base of a thriving nation. This makes the human world different from the animal kingdom. It is the animal farm but subject to how the animals want it to be. This is the mindful part.

How open are we?

Skimming through the few pages of the Goh Keng Swee book by Tan Siok Sun in the papers, it is clear that Keng Swee left politics because of a new love and not too because of his health. In 1982, or even now, we are still a society of monks and priests. A second love life is uncomfortable and could become an embarrassment and the topic of gossips. So it was better to stay away from politics. And Singapore lost one of it brightest leaders because of our high moral standard of social norms. A few days back it was reported that Hilary Clinton was taking out her big gun in her presidential campaign. And that big gun was non other than the charismatic Bill Clinton. Clinton was still as popular as before with or without Lewinsky. The Americans have adored him for what he is and forgiven him for his little indiscretion. And he is still being invited to talk about his exploits in the White House and being paid big money for it. Are we that pragmatic as a people compare to the Americans 'can do' attitude towards life? Or are we just some uptight society that taking a second glance at a pretty face is scorned upon? Or are we just a hypocritical society that claims to be whiter than white and any little speck of dust marks the ruin of a man no matter how talented he is? America is a big country with a big heart for forgiveness. And they are not so uptight about the private lives of their people and leaders. They love them the way they are with all their warts and scars. George Bush is the best living example of how the Americans have accepted him as their president and all his boobs and slips. He is after all a man, and not god.

Sonthi's game of deception

The Bangkok Post had an article pointing to the misleading information and statements made by Sonthi and questioned if this man can be trusted. It reported that just one week prior to the coup he publicly denied that he was going to attempt a coup. And he did. And now he admitted that his charges against Singapore for spying was such for public consumption and was not true. The question now is how long can he get away from deceiving the Thai public? He is now in power and no one can touch him. When his grip on power slips away, how would the new man in power deal with him? Or how would the Thai people deal with him? Would they begin to have doubts about the NSC's charges against Thaksin given such a record? His downfall and disgrace are quite certain unless the Thais are willing to forgive him.

higher cost? have no fear

'Costs are always important but we are not going to allow costs to prevent us from growing. You do want the standard of living of Singaporeans to go up and a higher stand of living means more income in real terms.' Goh Chok Tong Recently we are seeing all kinds of increases, the euphoria of property prices and the jubilant cheers of property developers and beneficiaries of en bloc sales. We also hear some grumblings from the foreign business communities and the lower grade foreign talents that it is no longer feasible to work here and have their families with them. Can the rentals of office spaces and shop spaces continue to go on without somebody paying for the increases? High costs mean higher standard of living provided the income is growing as fast or faster. How many Singaporean's real incomes are growing? The 2% GST increases means that income has gone down by 2%. Period. The rebate is only a short term stop gap measure. And if the goods and service providers just add up their costs and transfer to the consumers, as many have seen recently, the increase in prices are more than 2%. Effectively cost of living is up and real income down. Then the surge in property prices that will filter down to the heartlanders. Real income must come down when buying a flat is now that much more. The en bloc hordes with their overflowing cash windfall can only benefit one time by downgrading. Unless the en bloc phenomenon can go on and on. But that does not change the fact that many first time flat buyers are going to pay more for their new flats. And if their incomes do not run away as fast as the prices, they are going to face the squeeze. We believe that our standard of living can go on the upward climb despite the high costs. Maybe the top 20% could do so. Do we believe that the general masses are that much smarter, productive and efficient that they deserve that much more for their effort and services than people around us? Many in India and China have proven that they could do as much and as good as us for lesser. The competition from these seas of humanities will not allow our workers' salaries to go on rising in line with the rising costs. I wish that I am wrong, that this island is really a pool of talented people that can command exceptionally higher remunerations for the quality of their work vis a vis the Asian giants. And we can continue to push up our cost and standard of living at will.

A biography of Goh Keng Swee

Before it is out controversy has already started. The wife does not want it published, claiming that it did not have his consent and thus disrespectful. The daughter in law claimed that Keng Swee did not object to it. Under normal circumstances, a book on the life of our pioneering leaders should be welcomed to shed light on the making of a giant and his contributions to the making of Singapore. It is part of Singapore's history and should belong to the people. Why would the wife want to distant herself and Keng Swee from the book? Are there unpleasant things that should not be there and it is better to say it out front first? Or is it the wish of Keng Swee that he does not want it to be seen as an ego trip while he is still alive? Definitely it is not a publicity stunt like another Harry Potter's magical book. All of Harry's books came out with a big bang and were instantly snapped up. Would Keng Swee's book be in the top sellers list? Or like he said, who would want to read about him? Let the people decide.

The power of feedback

Not the official kind where someone designated a box called 'Feedback' and expect people to throw their little slips of paper in and they vet whichever they wish to reply. That is the cheap kind of feedback, the sanitised version of feedback. The real and more powerful feedback comes from the spontaneous response of the people. The outcry that is heard. We have seen many, mostly through cyberspace recently. And we have seen the results without having to claim that it is effective. But there is a more powerful feedback that is in action. The silent feedback. This is a feedback where all those who knows, who matters, just keep quite and smile as if nothing happens. And the less they talk about an issue, knowing that the issue is so obviously foul, the more powerful it is. It is a kind of non communicated cynicism and waiting to blow up. And you can feel it, just like the force. It is not seen, not heard, but it is there.

Media's distorted truth

Fred Hilmer, the Vice Chancellor of the fallen UNSW(Singapore) has sung a different tune in 'The Australian.' And the fault, according to him, is EDB. He has his plans to continue with the Singapore campus, expecting EDB to foot his bill. And it was EDB's fault for the failure by not giving in to his terms. The right to make such statements in a press and be read, and if the other party is not given the same airing to tell the other side of the story, the one who is given space to print, will come out right. This is the distorted truth of main stream media. They take sides and present the side they wish to present. That is as professional or unprofessional as far as main stream media can be. EDB has now come out with a strongly worded reply in our local papers to explain its position. I wonder whether EDB's reply will be published in The Australian. Otherwise it is a purely waste of time as the target audience who read The Australian will still believe what Hilmer said without preview to the EDB side of the story. Or it is just for Singaporean consumption. Whoever controls the media controls the view of its readers.

A Declaration of War

It has begun. Ayman Al Zawahir, the number 2 man of Al Qaeda has order the 'Islamic fighters to strike Western interests worldwide and for regime change in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.' Al Qaeda is also talking about regime change. It is a struggle against corrupt regimes aiming at the interests of Crusaders and Jews. It is a war between Islam and Christians and Jews. "All those who have attacked the (Islamic) nation must pay the price, in our countries and theirs, in Iraq, Afghanistan, in Palestine and in Somalia, but above all where one can strike a blow against their interests,' he said. This is a very serious threat and all countries will have to take it seriously and beef up their securities. It is a cakewalk of a different kind. Expect more hits around the world. This could be the world war 3 that the world has been awaiting.

It is all Singapore's fault!

Juwono blamed Singapore for not having any intention to sign the DCA And Extradition Treaty. He claimed that Singapore intentionally made it difficult by insisting on having more days for military training just to make sure that the two treaties will not be signed. Now I understand why the Indonesians have no faith in the intelligence of their political leaders. They did not even know what they were signing and needed their Parliamentarians to show how stupid they were. And when proven so, they blamed the Singaporeans for conning them. One up for Singapore negotiators for being able to con simple minded negotiators from Indonesia.

What is happening?

The URA is urging the public to take media reports of rising office rentals with a pinch of salt. '...the public should take into consideration information on future supply of office space.' Now, does it mean that the media is not telling the public the full story? How can? How can? And the media is being accused of fanning the flames of high property prices. Now that cannot be. That will be irresponsible! The URA is worried about all the fanning and will give the public a 'more balanced perspective' by releasing more detailed data on office space vacancies and rentals. 'The media has played its role in increasing the profile of the property market, increasing the speed of the property sector,' said Mr Vasu Menon, chief editor of finatiQ.com. 'The public will worry about these media reports. People could get scared, thinking that they missed the boat,' said Menon. Wow, whacking of the media for not reporting accurately and misleading the public. What happens to all the professionalism?

NKF Story - Return of the Chairman

Richard Yong and his wife will be back after holidaying in Hongkong. He will soon be reunited with his right hand man in Changi. Maybe a new venture will be conceived given their enterpreneurial skills. Charity or Fashion Shows in aid of prisoners will be an innovative idea.

The nightmare that is coming

Another 10 or 20 years, many more Singaporeans will be in their 70s and 80s and 90s and still alive. All rich and happy with plenty of money in their CPF accounts. And thanks to the advancement of medical science, they will live to a ripe old age. Some may make do with a walking stick, some with a motorised wheelchair. Slow and a little feeble, life goes on. And in their midst, young, strong and sturdy foreign workers abound and plentiful. It is so tempting to take from the helpless and physically weak uncles and aunties. It is so easy. Will we see an increase in old uncles and aunties being robbed in broad daylight? Will old uncles and aunties fear living their homes? Will this nightmare visit us?

When cops doctored evidence

Lance Corporal Rohaniza, a key witness to the murder case of the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu said that the police doctored her evidence. What she said was not what the police recorded and she was under harassment and pressure from the police who wanted to record what they want. This is a clear case of blind loyalty, where justice, right and wrong were sold away to protect people in high offices. When civil servants refused to think about justice, when they blindly accepted orders, the country will go to the dogs. How is it that civil servants can be so corrupted or feared power to become accomplices of crime against fellow citizens? Do they have any conscience or they can be easily bought?

political justice

Thaksin was ousted from power as the Prime Minister of Thailand. And what followed is a list of charges of corruption and misdeeds. His properties confiscated and his family members, practically everyone of them, is facing criminal charges or hefty fines. And there is a warrant out to arrest him and to extradite him from England. All these seem so right to the power of the day. No one questions the truth or validity of all the charges. It is political justice. George Bush commutes the jail terms of his former aide, Lewis Scooter Libby, after the latter had been charged and convicted in a court of law. Whether he is a friend, or a former aide, is not in question. He uses his power as the President to do what he thinks is just to him and his friend. Another kind of political justice.

Not in Our Name

This is the title of an artile by Asim Siddiqui in the Today paper. He challenges the Muslim intellectuals to take on the extremists who have hijacked Islam for their terrorist acts. He is against the Muslim extremists for using the western foreign policy of aggression against the Muslims as an excuse to wage a war of terrorism against the West. I fully agree with him that acts of terrorism, or as the West legitimised it by calling them acts of war, are unacceptable, immoral, and a primitive way of settling conflicts and disagreements. The Muslims should find a better way to tackle the West so that they will be treated better and as an equal to other human beings with a right to determine their way of life. But short of having the biggest gun and the biggest bomb, a language that the West understand, there is really nothing else they can do unless the West voluntarily gives up war as another way of bullying the rest of the world. But I find it hyprocritical in Asim's defence of England as a target of Muslim terrorism. He said that compared to the US, the UK has very few troops in Iraq. And the level of British troops in Iraq will get lesser and eventually no British troops will be there. So Britain should not be attacked. This kind of logic is the logic of the bully, where might is right. The British can go to Iraq and burn down the place. That is acceptable. And once they vacated Iraq, all must be forgotten. The British soldiers are no longer there. So leave Britain alone. What rubbish! If this kind of logic is what the world should live by, all the criminals should be spared. They have left the scene of their crimes. The British and the West must realised that if they start a fire, they must be prepared to be burnt. There is no escape.

Political Party Manifesto 3

The paternalistic policies of the PAP is from hole to hole, from cradle to grave. It is their policy, though not officially put, to manage the life of the people from the day they pop out from the hole till the day they drop into a hole. That is what the CPF is all about. What is the stand of the other political party on this? Do they also agree on this policy, that should they come to power, they will also manage the people's life in the same way? Or would they plan it differently? Under the present scheme, it requires a lot of savings from the people to provide for a flat, hospitalisation and retirement, excluding other uses that the CPF money can be released. On a broad brush basis, everyone would need $600k(for a 4/5 rm flat paying instalment over 25 years) plus $30k for Medisave and another $120k for retirement. These works out to $750k or $25k a year over 30 years, or approx $2k savings a month. Anyone with less than this amount will have nothing to take out at 55 if this withdrawal age is maintained. The first time they will get their monthly stipends will be 62 or 65 or 70 or whatever. It would be good for the other political parties to get feedback from the people, get in touch with the people and ask the people what they really want from them. This genuine connect with the people is essential as we enter another phase of our development when the people got sick of being treated like handicaps and never ever grown up children. The forever young policy will soon be a pain in the arse and it is a matter of time when people will insist that it be thrown out.

Different kinds of equality

In communist country, all men are technically equal. So all gets about the same pay. And this is bad as the talented or more hardworking type will not want to work as they will be working like a fool and earn the same as those who refused to work. In our case, everyone is equal in paying GST. All pays 7%. The rich may pay more by their higher consumption. And they are happy as it is a matter of choice and lifestyle. The poor, who are unable to make ends meet, also have to pay the same rate. Just too bad. Everyone is equal and treated equally.

Please return my money

This is about as far as what was suggested. Singaporeans should go down on their knees to beg the govt to return them their CPF savings. Have mercy, many have not seen anything more than $10k in their life and now that they have some money in their CPF, please return to them. Let them touch the thick wad of notes or feel the 5 digit number in their POSB passbook for once in their life time for they may not see tomorrow. How long must the govt continue to father the never to grow up children? Or will the govt only let go when they are about to die?

The New Undeclared War

The war that is starting in England is a new kind of war. It is undeclared war, fought in undefined territory by undefined enemy using undefined methodology and weapons. It is sporadic and erratic. And this war makes the soldiers obsolete. It is a war being fought by the police against an enemy hidden among its people. It is a war where the targets are the people and not the soldiers. It is a war when the police find themselves fighting and not patrolling the streets to guard against petty crimes. The world should brace up to this new warfare, the newborn child of the Iraqi war.

Good news, property prices up

There must be a lot of cheering and happiness going around for all the property owners, including HDB flat owners. Then there are cries from analysts and property trading firms that the red light is on. It is alarming that the price is running to the pre crisis level of 1996. They are calling for the govt to take appropriate measures to curb the exuberance. When the crisis hit in the late 1990s, harsh measures were taken to curb property speculations. So far nothing much was done except some cautionary words. Maybe we need the bubble to burst before something harsh will be introduced. In the meantime all the rich property owners are laughing to the bank. Their money and assets growing in leaps and bounds. For those who are genuinely looking for a home, sorry mate, your money value has just gone down by 7.9% if you are looking at the private property market and 2.9% in HDB resale market. Yes, your money is getting smaller. Not forgetting that practically everything is going up. Are the people really benefitting from all these price hikes and property boom? Some obviously are. The en bloc owners will be very happy too. Who is the last to laugh?

Political Party Manifesto 2

What should be the priorities of political parties? The current ruling party's main priority is economic development and growing the pie. There are progress in many areas. Many people are getting very rich. But many people may not feel that way. Many are expected to continue to work and work and never ever think of retirement. There should be a relook at the priorities of govt. The people and their lives, their well beings must be the first priorities. Not the obsession with accumulation of money. The top 20 percent are quite happy with what they are. But the 80%, the sloggers, horses and the cows, whose lives have become one of non stop working and with no security in old age. Everyone will get poorer by the day. Forget about the money in the CPF. Those money will never be enough. Forget about falling sick and getting hospitalised. That will be the end of whatever savings one have. What happened to the long term planning of the people's life? The planning from cradle to grave does not seem to be right. Compare to the older days, just 20 or 30 years ago, many did retired and managed to survive quite well. Why is it that people are now expecting to have more than $120k in their savings and still not enough? Still living in fear? Would any political party be able to come out with another super plan from cradle to grave that is not so precarious? What has gone wrong? Why is it that the people must be made to put aside more and more money and still not enough?

Brazen challenge on modesty

Below is a post submitted by a forumer. On Saturday 30 JUN 2007 @ about 1045 am, i met my client a SIN PR @ East Coast hawker centre. My client chose a seat (4person away from a Singaporean man) on same long bench. After buying coffee, i joined my client on the table. That man turned towards my client and said somewhat in this manner " Excuse, my wife is coming back here, can you put your legs down...it is not nice." My client was in his shorts & running shoes and i noted he was cross-legged while seated opposite me. My client was shocked and so was i. My client muttered, "there is nothing indecent here .." I added to the man " there is nothing indecent here.. you are acting out of jurisdiction..." My client insisted i carry on our conversation on the property and not to be distracted. In fact, i wanted to address the man again, but my client said to ignore him, which i did as we had important issues to talk about the property. The man man drove off first while me & my client continued our discussion in the car-park. The crux of issues was,... i do not think my client was acting indecently by crossing his leg which is very common. Besides it was a hawker centre not an air-con restaurant. Besides it is Saturday, it is encouraged that we do sports and take regular exercises. Neither was my client out of syn in his choice of running short. It was a decent running short. Why did the Man acted in this manner shocked me till today.. I personally do not think we had escalated matters here but think there was a serious breach of individual freedom & ways which makes SIN an attractive place to do business and deemed us an international cosmoplitian society. This incidence showed a) imposing one's standard of dressing on another using decency issues to intimidate. Using a "so-called" sikit atas attitute to impose, frustrate and cause maximun anger. b) Using the "wife" as the sufficiency of reason or to act as the actual barometer to issue a compliance to a fellow SIN resident. Is the wife the moderator of LAW & Compliance? Is the wife a walking judge issuing out arbitrary judgement based on his/her feelings of the day? Going around ticking people off for their behaviour based on his/her judgement... c) my client is small built but he was decently dressed except in his running shorts.He is well travelled and had lived in many bigger cities elsewhere. He is a banker not a Ah Beng. d) a form of extremism using method of intimidation through asking for compliance over a matter which possibly could cause conflict and to put challenge to the concept of racial harmony and/or written rule of Laws. . Using a upper crust scholarly attitute imposing one's standard using "decency" as a cover to disrupt harmony, rub society,imposing on one's civil liberty rights; as an excuse for rights of engagement ; this causing fractionalism & subtle anger to built up to disrupt another person's way of life. I hope SIN will not head down this road where individual rule the street using subtle methods of intimidation, imposing on other civil liberty rights and./or imposing on others their arbitary judgement. The above post describes a normal outing that could turn ugly when another person starts to impose his values and conduct or morality on others. What is unacceptable to him may not be acceptable to others. The danger is that it is very provocative and could start an argument or fight that could turn ugly. Every community and religious organisations should take it upon themselves to teach and educate their people to accept that in a multi racial society we must accept that other people are different and have different values and way of life. Modesty, morality, decency should be confined to one's own group and not imposed onto others. Obvious obscenity in the public is of course not acceptable. I would like to goreng that man's pisang. Tolerance man!

Too much caring

Anyone who is working, irrespective of his age or income or wealth, must contribute to Medisave and CPF. This is good for them. For by the time they reach the elusive withdrawal age, not likely to be a fixed number, they can withdraw a few hundred dollars a month from their CPF to pass the day. And very wealthy people like our millionaire bankers, property owners, ministers etc will benefit from this withdrawal, to keep them going on their retirement. How nice. I am sure people like Ong Beng Seng and Wee Cho Yaw or Quek Leng Beng or Ng Teng Fong would be very grateful. Their retirement pocket money is well conceived and protected. They will not run out of money. Straight jacket?

Political Party Manifesto

We are seeing new parties being formed. And every party has its new aspirations and aspirants to serve the people and country in their chosen way. Everyone will swear that whatever they are doing, it is always for the good of the people and country. But often the people do not believe. The people are seeing political parties existing for their own sake, for the politician's self interest. Am I right to make this generalisation? Definitely not all will agree to my observations. Some will die worshipping their chosen party and only see goodness in them. This can be see from their unstinging support for their parties in the msm and in cyberspace. Some even make it their personal quests to defend those positions and parties. What would be the expectations of the people of the politicians and political parties? The party must be for the people first and nation second, party third and politicians last. The nation is there for the people and not people for the nation. And definitely not people for a political party. Politics must be for the good of the people. A nation or country is just a non living entity, a concept that has no life. What is the point of a Singapore that is all dressed up to the finest, but the people struggling to keep up with the high cost of living? The wealth created by the nation, the taxes collected, revenue generated, must go to the people, their stomach, their health and their brainware. No need to build disneylands. Those are fantasies. But good if we can afford it without compromising on the well being of the people. The cumulation of wealth cannot be the end all of the govt. The wealth must be ploughed back to the people, for the people to live a better quality of life at an affordable cost. There must be a compromise between money for beautiful and wonderful infrastructure and money for living. Is the working of people to their death beds a people's choice, the way to live life? Is the savings for retirement just to eat 3 miserable meals and constantly fearing that a major sickness will turn one into poverty as compare to savings to see the world during the sunset years? Retirement has taken on a new meaning. There is so much fear of affordability of healthcare. So is saving that is never going to be enough. Golden years too have taken on a new meaning. More specifically, no more golden years. For all the savings will never be enough except for the few very rich.

When Means Testing is introduced

Looking at the general comments being made, when means testing is introduced officially, many Singaporeans will definitely not qualified. Only one specific group of patients would qualify, the foreign workers. But that should be the case as all Singaporeans are rich enough to pay more for better wards. Leave the Class C wards for the poor foreigners.

Wheelchairs and walking sticks

In the not too distant future these will be the prized items and gifts in the shopping centres. And Singaporeans' life will be organised around these precious items. In shopping complexes, workplace and residential neighbourhoods, instead of bicycle parks, there will be parks for wheelchairs and little slots in the ground for walking sticks. As the generation of the seniors increases in numbers and found everywhere, their needs will have to be catered for. Food courts will come without chairs and the customers will bring their own chairs. Walking sticks will be like tobacco pipes, aesthetically carved and designed, some high tech, to keep the dogs and molestors away. Some will have built in detectors, music, GPS, lost and found message and all the particulars of the owner. And wheelchairs will replace cars up to a point. It will become a mode of transportation for short distances, with remote control from the home. One good thing, no need to worry about speed limits. And a new COE will be issued to those who can afford to live longer than 70. They will be means tested to see if they have sufficient funds to keep themselves alive without public assistance. If they can, they will simply expire.

Who is more lusty and alluring?

Another get it all wrong concept. The hot and sexy debate of giving free drinks to women is getting all the wrong reasons and explanations. Should the issue be the number 35? Many will be turned off by the the young sluts that look anything but a lady. And many ladies well past to the wrong side of 40 are simply gorgeous and will turn every head. Fantastic as a prize catch for the night. Now, what's the problem? The reason for giving free drinks is to attract all the sexy women who in turn will attract all the sexy men to spend their money in the pub. All the kids in the management of the pubs should wake up to their ideas and look at the issue clearly. What they need is not ladies night but Come and Get Me Night. Women who are dressed to kill and give the inviting look should be allowed to get their free drinks despite their age. The gate keepers should be briefed to open the gate when they see one that is worthy of the come get me look. Better still, call it the Slut Night. Be proud to be a slut and be rewarded with free drinks. That is the crux of the issue man, not age.

Playing fiddle to the ox

The Chinese has this ancient phrase from the sages, playing a fiddle to an ox. What it means is simply that the ox cannot understand or appreciate the finese of music. LKY was interviewed by Berita Harian on the IDR issue. And again he took pains to explain how Singapore support the IDR on a win win basis. How could he expect the tribal chiefs to understand and appreciate such a win win approach when both parties would benefit from the cooperation? The moment they hear the word 'win' for Singapore they will go hysterical, deranged. How can Singapore win from this? Singapore is going to win more from this. Malaysia will win less, will be taken advantaged of. We cannot let Singapore win. It is a wrong approach, a wrong strategy to use the win win approach. They will not want to hear such an explanation. If Singapore is to be accepted in any deals or agreements, it is of utmost importance for Singapore to explain that it is a win lose agreement. Malaysia will win and Singapore will lose. Then go ahead and tell them how much Singapore will lose and how much Malaysia will gain. Only then will they be comfortable with the deal. And the onus is on Singapore to list out all the disadvantages and losses that it will have to face up with. They would not be able to think or see it for themselves. Let's negotiate and work on a win lose basis.

Memories of a property bust

It wasn't too long ago when property prices were driven sky high and let to a financial crisis. Then punitive measures were taken to curb the incessant demand and price increases. It was just a bad dream. Don't bother with it. Now all efforts are channelled to build hi end world best properties and at ethereal prices. Obviously many Singaporeans are not going to be beneficiaries to such exuberant enthusiasm. Several million dollars price tag are beyond the means of many Singaporeans. It is only for them to ogle. Then build all these high end properties for who, for what? Is this the best way to use our scarce land resources? And the profits from such sales and developments, for who?

CPF - A bugging feeling

Cpf is the people's life saving for their retirement. By the ever increasing withdrawal age, it appears to be an elusive dream. Just when one is about to touch it, it slips away again. The apparent slipping away act has led to many wild speculations that there is not enough money in the CPF. But the official position is to keep it a little longer for the people's own good. Hold it back a few more years, and the money will grow a bit more. It is such a nice feeling to know that one will have a big sum of money in the CPF at 90 if the withdrawal age ever reaches that number. For as long as the purpose of keeping the money for old age is still tossed around as the reason, it may still be tolerable to some. What if the retention of CPF is to allow the funds to be used in some mavericks' investment schemes? There is this bugging feeling that the CPF is a cheap source of fund for investment. And the longer it is retained, more funds will be available to do a lot of things. Th0ugh this may not be the case, people's imagination simply run wild. What would be most undesirable will be for people to incorporate CPF's savings into their financial planning. This will be contrary to what the CPF is all about. Investing CPF money should be a secondary objective, a kind of a need to grow the money since it is there. Not to make the funds available and withholding it from the people. Now why would people think that this may be the case?

Press must not forget freedom and democracy

Anwar is of the view that though socio and economic developments are important, an equally important aspect is the promotion of freedom and democracy. What is the point of having social and economic growth when freedom and democracy are stifled or strangled? Does the press think that social and economic growth are good enough and they can rest on their laurel as long as the people are fed and clothed? When the people are hungry, such needs are important. But after these are looked after, shouldn't the press move forward to a higher goal? Andrew Taussig, a trustee at the UK's International Institute of Communications, commented that 'It would be rashed to assume that there is a co relation between the two (press freedom and economic development).' The Singapore Media thinks that they are contributors of the economic development of Singapore by following the rules of the law of the country.

International surveys - the Bull and the Shit

Washington: Public attitudes towards China are turning more negative in the United States, Europe and elsewhere amid unease about its economic and military power, an international survey suggests. Bush was ranked more popular to Ahmadinejad and Hu Jintao. Islamabad: Public attitudes towards the US and Europe are turning hostile in the Middle East and Africa over its wars and dominations over the Middle Eastern and African nations. Bush was ranked as the Number One Enemy of the Arab Nations and Ahmadinejad its Number One Hero. Hu Jintao and Putin were ranked as the friends of the Free World. The US image continues to take a beating in many parts of the world, according to an anuthorititative poll, the Pew Global Attitudes Project....Global distrust of American leadership is reflected in increasing disapproval of the conrnerstones of US foreign policy. Which survey is more shitty?

2 more CDBs

Is this good news or bad news? From the point of generating income, it is good news. The designation of CDBs means charges for parking and car entry into the CBDs should go up. The prices of properties and rentals should also go up. So prices would generally go up. The economy will get a boost. Net effect, many people and organisations would be well positioned to reap a windfall. For the workers, there will be savings for transportations and travelling time, that is if they can relocate or find jobs nearer home.

Locals Not Welcome

From ST: June 28, 2007 Is it the colonial mentality or just plain rudeness? I WAS waiting to go into the fitting room at Zara Marina Square on June 22 during lunchtime. A Caucasian lady emerged from one of the fitting rooms with an armful of clothes, none of which she wanted to buy. As the Zara salesgirl took them from the Caucasian lady, she was all smiles and politeness. The salesgirl thanked the lady brightly and wished her a good day. I was next up. Immediately the smile vanished. As she took the one piece of clothing I was holding to remove the hanger, she looked almost annoyed with me for taking up her time. Her face was 'black'. I wouldn't have felt it if she had not treated the person immediately before me so well. Is it because that lady was Caucasian? Zara's clothes are nice, but the service is nowhere close. Veronica Chan Miao Hua I chance to see this letter. Some may feel irated by the behavior of the salesgirl. I suggest that since we are so cosmopolitan and encouraging more foreigners to be here, we should take such an attitude in our stride. Perhaps for shops that would like to cater for foreigners only, they should hang out a sign on their shop windows, 'Locals Not Welcome' or 'Expats Are Welcome'. That would make it very clear to the locals and the locals can avoid them and not become an irritant in the shop.

How awfully wrong

'Even if the man spent only $1000 a month, he would need $240,000 over the next 20 years. And that is before medical expenses are factored in. Would that be enough?' Lim Boon Heng How awfully wrong is the number. Even without taking medical expenses into consideration, he would need at least $480,000, taking into account inflation and the diminishing value of the dollar. The minimum sum, to be adequate, must be raised continuously to $1 million at least. The people must be educated and be prepared for this.

corporate governance and guardians

The issue of corporate governance is getting more attention. One principle that must not be violated, and for corporate governance to be effective, is that one cannot allowed the potential thieves to appoint his accomplices to guard the vault. Any system that allows this is flaw. Another principle is to have people who have a vested interest in the money in the safe to be the watchdog instead of people who are making a living as guards. Guards or guardians too may help themselves when the alternative is more attractive. You can always bribe the guards or guardians.

Zage versus Rasif - what's the message

From the trend of the questioning by Hri Kumar, the Zages should bear part of the blame for trusting Rasif and not taking reasonable precautions to safeguard their money. Though Mrs Zage was not called stupid, she broke down after being asked if it was wise of her to leave her money in trust for a property deal. The moral of the story is 'don't be too trusting with your money to anyone, even an organisation.' And remember what Gerard Ee said? Someone may just helped himself to the money. And this is exactly what happened. And recently we have seen so many cases of such nature. I want my money in my own pocket where I have full control over it. Do not trust anyone with your money. Not even god. The other point arising from this case is related to the Singapore Brand. People have so much faith in our system that they will sign away a $10 million dollar cheque. Would one do it in countries that one have doubts about the system? But if it goes on like this, soon this Brand will become No Brand. Once we lose it, once we lose the trust, it is gone. There is nothing wrong with the practice of depositing cheques in clients' accounts. It is a common practice in the finance industry. Only the safeguards appear to be in question. Are there loopholes? Or is it a case of fraud when parties are involved in facilitating the fraud? Again, don't trust your money in anyone.

NKF story - Efficiency in law enforcement

Am I proud of our system? The latest I heard in the news is that Durai will face another charge for paying $5000 to a non existing company to recruit a senior manager. It is clear that no stone is left unturned in the investigation. After the first charge of a $20,000 cheque, now another charge of a $5,000 payment. Will more be revealed in due course and bigger amounts appeared in the picture. Or is this the trend? $20,000, $5,000, $500....

There was a time, when...

It was just 40 or 50 years ago. Not that long. But many of you may not be born yet. It was a time when the people in this island were mere travellers, merchants, passersby etc. Even the natives were not more than part of the flora and fauna of the landscape. There was no such things as citizenship of the island. We were called subjects as in the English grammar. A sentence must have an object and a subject. That was what was written in my birth certificate. A subject, without the rights that come with a citizenship. And the island was run, managed and control by expats, just like a hotel. yes, we were a hotel at one time. And our forefathers' lives were dictated by the hotel managers. They were allocated red subject zone, blue subject zone and green subject zone to live in. The choice part of the island were reserved for the hotel managers. That is not all. Employment of plum jobs or jobs of some significance were the reserves of the expats. The subjects were at best employed as chief clerks. And the expats would handpick and favour a few of the subjects and elevated them to half their status, which was a great honour for the subjects. And clubs formed by the expats were reserved only for the expats. Locals and subjects not allowed. Don't ever think of becoming a member of the SICC or the Singapore Cricket Club or any of the expat clubs. Those were the days when the people of Singapore were denied citizenship status. And those were the lives of subject people without a country. Do we want to go back to those days and give away our citizenship and the rights of citizenship and become subjects or flotsams once again? Do we want our little piece of land to be turned into a hotel and we be kept out of it?

another quote for the good singaporeans

"Changes are being made so Singaporeans can have more money when they retire." Minister Of Manpower Jan 2007 Singaporeans are so lucky. The govt is planning for everyone to have more money when they retire. For the mean time, please stretch your dollar, if you have one.

something unbelieveable

ST Forum June 14, 2007 $200 GST offset, but so much more to pay ad infinitum I REFER to StarHub's announcement that it will increase cable TV subscriptions by between $4 for basic groups and $10 for sports content. This is an increase of 17 to 67 per cent. The reason given was that 'the price hike is a natural result of ongoing increases in prices of pay-TV content", without any mention of the GST increase. When I received my GST offset letter informing me that I will receive $200, I began to recall the things that I have had to pay more for in recent months. Over the last 12 months or so, there have been media reports about increases or announced increases in electricity, taxi fares, development charge for non-landed residential sites, refuse collection fees, food courts upgrading and food prices, bus and MRT fares, one- and two-room HDB rental, university fees, Goods and Services Tax (GST), postage, property tax, registration fees for medicines, polyclinic fees, hospital fees, car park charges, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), Nets charges, ElderShield premiums, removal of medical fees guidelines, plastic bags, hospitals means-testing, electronic share application fee, a second postage rates increase, and now cable TV, et cetera, in chronological order. All these increases or announced increases are not even related to the impending GST increase, except for SingPost's postage rates increase which is 'specifically to offset the GST hike'. With the economy booming, resulting in increased revenue, profits, surpluses, possibly lower costs due to economies of scale, et cetera, why is it that prices can only go up but never lowered, or at least kept level? With the assurance that government fees will be frozen for one year after the GST hike, I hope that particularly those fees for essential goods and services that are not in the 'frozen list", like electricity, taxi fares, ERP, bus and MRT fares, university fees, health-care costs, et cetera, will not continue to rise again soon. Leong Sze Hian Is Leong Sze Hian right or wrong? The latest figure released is that cost of living is up .4% over the last month. And looking at such statistics, even after July 1, the next 6 months' CPI will not be more than 2.4%. Why are people claiming that everything is up? Mee rebus up 50c only, what else? All the items mentioned in Leong Sze Hian's article? Sounds quite fictitious. Something is unbelieveable here. It must be Leong Sze Hian's article. CASE has set up a special section to monitor any unreasonable or unjustifiable increases. So Singaporeans need not have to worry.