CPF savings not enough for retirement

I fully agree with Aaron Low, ST's political correspondent, on his view that CPF savings will not be enough for retirement. At the rate inflation is eating up the value of the savings, many will be hard push for money to pay for their basic expenses. The question is why CPF savings, about 40% of a person's life time income is not enough. Oh, they have been buying affordable housing and paying for affordable hospitable bills. Ok, these are affordable expenses and reasaonable to spend them. So how to make sure that after spending on these affordable items at affordable prices the retirees will still have enough money to live on? One way as suggested by Aaron, is to give up the idea of leaving something behind for the children. Have an inflation pegged annuity plan that will ensure that every cent is used up. Nothing to be left behind. I have another brilliant idea. Raise CPF contribution to 60%. This should work for a while if inflation is still at 6-8%. But if the price of housing and medical bills keep going up according to market prices, or if inflation is higher, this may still be short. If that is the case, we can raise it to 80%. It is prudent to save for the future. Tighten the belt if need be.

Time of Great Opportunities

The world financial crisis has thrown open the door to great opportunities if we are prepared to take a step back and assess how best we could benefit from it. One area that we can seriously take a relook is the policy on foreign talents. Now is the time to go out there and mount a major recruitment exercise to bring in the real talents from America. We can go for the top notch talents instead of the third or fourth rate talents we were getting in the past. We could go for the best 200 or 300 CEOs to replace all the CEOs in GLC linked companies. The CEOs of Citigroup, AIG, GM, Ford Motors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the financial institutions and the airlines, the aerospace industry etc, all are available at a price that is now affordable. We can than go ahead and acquire the Citibank Asia operations, AIA, replace the CEO of HDB with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, build car factories in JB, Batam and Bintan with the help fo GM and Ford Motors. The experts and top talents from Wall Streets can replace the local talents in our finance industry, and the possibilities are just enormous. Go and get them before it is too late. And we can truly transform ourselves into really world class. Our corporations all headed by the best foreign talents and supported by the best local talents. We will be world beaters.

The motorists are angry, very angry

The high insurance cost now, and the coming future, is making many motorists angry. And the fact that this is a mandatory requirement really is a pissed off. It is like legalising daylight robbery. It is not the point to tell the industry to reduce the insurance premiums. The govt must step in to stop the malpractice as the legal requirement for car insurance is from the govt. How can this thing be left to the insurance industry completely to decide how much they want to charge when it is obvious that frauds, abuses and malpractice are the cause. And don't forget that pay is also a major concern. How much is the cost going to the pay of the industry players? Big pay means big cost, don't ever forget that. Someone must pay for it. 8 month bonuses or 12 month bonuses or more?

Newton BBQed

It is good that the Newton BBQ stall has been suspended from business for 3 months. That is what the Singapore Brand is worth. I thought the Singapore Brand is worth more than that. But I hope all the tourists would avoid Newton altogether. The locals should avoid the place as well. And another big mess in Sim Lim and other shopping centres are about to unfold. Maybe the shops will also be suspended from operating for 3 months if they are caught fleecing their customers. In the case of Dr Clemen, he did not fleece his customers. They came willingly to give him the money.

$400k to $500k for 344 sq ft pigeon hole

The housing developers were bragging about the mad rush for 344 sq ft of pigeon holes and buyers willing to cough out $400k/$500k for it. And motor insurance of $2000 pa or about $200 pm, much more than the instalment payment of a OPC. Then $4/$5 for a bowl of noodle. Are these what we called progress, better off than yesterday? Why would people work so hard to earn $500k only to live in a little pigeon hole and feel that their quality of life has improved? What the shit to pay $200 pm just for protection to drive a car and may not even need it for the next 30 or 40 years, but keep paying? Then at $5 a meal and 3 meals a day, it will work out to $15 base. That is $450 min pm. Squeeze to bare minimum, it will still need $300 pm just to eat alone. Shouldn't someone tell those who are jobless and on public assistance to do the natural thing, which is practical, pragmatic and more dignified? We are getting poorer for sure, when our money is buying lesser and lesser things. And we called this progress? But everyone clamouring for more expensive housing as a good thing. Everything must be expensive than can be good. We can afford to pay and pay. 5 years ago I bought a flat TV for $5k. Just bought one for less than $700, and better in quality and features. Oops, I must be wrong. The cheaper one must be of poorer quality. Both are branded Japanese made. We are going crazy or becoming stupid to believe that things will get better at the way cost of living is allow to runaway uncheck.

Are we turning into robbers?

Yesterday we read about the thugs in Sim Lim Square fleecing on their customers, particularly tourists. And this did not happen yesterday, and not in Sim Lim alone. Today we read about daylight robbery in Newton Hawker Centre. 4 foreigners were literally robbed of $491 by Stall 43, Tanglin Best BBQ Seafood. This was their bill for the food. 8 prawns cost $239 or $30 each. 4 crabs cost $169 or $42 each. And what else? Is this what we have become? These robbers are not only robbing the tourists and foreigners, they are destroying the Singapore brand and livelihoods of the decent people in the same businesses. Do we want the world to know that we are a nation of robbers before something serious is done to curb such abuses? Letting them off with a warning or small fine is not acceptable. They should be made an example of by revoking their business licences. Maybe fleecing is now a way of life as long as someone else has to pay for it. It reminds me of car insurance. Another kind of robbery. And if one looks carefully, robbery is everywhere, some even appeared legal and honourable.

Do not begrude others doing well

I was too busy to watch the news last night but with the TV on I could still catch the phrase, 'Do not begrudge others who are earning more' spoken by someone who must be earning much more. I think the comment was the result of some vibrations in cyberspace of civil servants getting 8 months of bonuses in such a time. Why should people begrudge others who are capable and earning their honest pay? Even in times like this, the able and capable, and the very talented must not be forgotten. Let's pay them their worth in case they may think of jumping ship. There are a lot of great paymasters out there waiting with open arms to employ these able talents, and pay them more. Just a little concern about public servants being paid with taxpayers money, and being paid very well. Just hope that their being paid very well will not being translated into more taxes in order to do so. The money must come from somewhere. From who's pocket?

Case is geared up to fight insurance fraud

Two letters in the ST forum did the job. The motorists are angry and demand that something needs be done to curb the abuses in the motor insurance industry. And Case is making strong statements to muster govt efforts to stop the fraud. Case President Yeo Guat Kwang said, 'It is not fair for the consumers to suffer, at the end of the day, because of all this malpractice in the industry.' It was also reported that GIA has all along suspected 'that some workshops, legal professionals and medical practititioners are working hand in glove in making these claims.' While professionals are involved too! And all these have been going on for so long and no one does anything to it or nothing can be done to stop it? Hey, this is highly efficient Singapore! So what are we going to do about it? The insurance companies have done the Singapore thing, throw more money into it by raising insurance premiums to solve the problem. Would more money be thrown into it to help the motorists? Or maybe we shall second a few supertalents to solve this difficult problem.

All the countries doing the wrong things

The US is going to curb employment for foreigners. And KL is also doing so. The big bourses in Tokyo, Australia and some others are curbing short selling. People are having second thoughts on minibonds and derivatives, high leverages on stocks and assets have proven to be very destructive. The exception is Singapore. We know we are doing the right thing while the world fumbles with about everything. That is why we are so successful. We will continue to welcome foreign talents. We will continue to sell minibonds, with a bit more care. We will continue to let short sellings in our stock market, it can only be good. Let the market forces determined the price. And we will continue to have derivatives and more derivatives. Leverage is good. Imagine one can take 5 or 10 mortgages on a house. There will be more liquidity. Why would Conrad Raj wrote against introducing more derivatives in such a time? He said it is like encouraging gambling. One stock with 10 derivatives means it is multiplied 10 times. If it fails, it will hurt 10 times, exactly like minibonds. Our stock market does not need more stocks or IPOs anymore. We can keep expanding by just multipling the stocks with more derivatives. So many people have been burnt with fortunes destroyed because of derivatives. Why can't we learn a little and be a little more cautious? Why can't we learn from other's mistakes? No, the others were less talented than us and do not know how to do it right. We are so talented until we can't find anyhow to fill Ho Ching's position and need a foreigner to come and help us find the way. By the way, I fully agree with Conrad Raj's reservations and concerns.

We are getting closer to a 8 million people city

We are getting closer to realise our dream of a 8 million people city. I read today's paper that private developers are building flats that are as big as 8 table tennis tables or 344 sq ft. And HDB is also reducing the size of the respective flats compare to the earlier days. Whether this is progress or regress is another issue. The squeeze will mean that the island could easily double or triple the population size. Let's forget about Swiss standard of living. Let's look east at Hongkong and Tokyo, great examples of great living. And the quality of life should be better as these flats are relatively more expensive on a per sq ft basis. So more expensive must be better. And this great way to live can be easily explained away. Save on PUB bills, save on cleaning space, no need maids, OMO can do liao. And no need to run all the way to the toilet or kitchen. Just row over and one is instantly in the toilet or kitchen. So easy and comfortable. Can watch TV from the toilet seat too. Singaporeans should look forward to the exciting future.

S Chips or minibond equivalent?

Finally a letter appeared in the ST forum questioning the huge amount of money lost by investors in S Chips, or China stocks listed in our stock market. I am wondering if this the first and only letter ever received by ST on this issue. Steven Lim Ngian Ern questioned whether due diligence were done before foreign companies were allowed to be listed here and why no one was answerable for the increasing number of S Chips going under through accounting fraud, disappearing management, board of directors abandoning the companies, overstating of cash balances and over inflated sales. Who is accountable for all these failures and the loss of money by investors? The answer is NOBODY! No one is responsible. It is caveat emptor. Someone told me geylang's gambling dens also operate on the same basis. No one is responsible. You die your own business. The operator just bring the gamblers together and collect a commission. Before we continue to plunge more deeply into this black hole, before more investors lose their money, I think there are enough incidents to warrant a slow down in this reckless and mindless pursuit to boost up the number of stocks in the stock market. Clob is already a very bitter experience. The way things are going it is not much different from Malaysian Clob shares or the minibonds. We need accountability and responsibility. We are not talking about losing peanuts. The money lost in the market is awesome.

Car insurance premiums up and up

The motorists are so pissed off with the high insurance premiums for cars that two letters appeared in the ST forum today. There could be more letters written in and many more who are angry but did not write in. The gist of their anger is that the high operating cost in the insurance industry is contributed by bad management and probably misleading claims and the whole process of repairing and claims. And all these were simply passed to the innocent motorists. Worst, many motorists have never made a claim in their lives and are made to pay more and more. Huh, pay more and more. Motor insurance is a compulsory requirement by law. Should the authority be concerned and be interested to see that there is fair play in this business? Or someone is sleeping or paid not enough so does not think it is his job to get his feet wet or hands dirty? The other question is whether the accident rate is really that high given the high number of vehicles on the road. Without proper monitoring and regulations in this industry, the insurers could turn themselves into highwaymen and the motorists becoming victims of another scheme of daylight robbery. Wake up man.

3 universities freeze student fees

Is this good news or bad news? Money wise I think most students and parents will breathe a sigh of relief. But quality wise, without increasing the fees, will the quality of education suffer? Every time when there is an increase in fees, they will tell you that you want quality you pay for it. So the quality improves with every fee increases. Now if the fees are frozen, do we see the quality of university education stagnant until the next fee increase? This is the kind of hogwash Singaporeans have been fed all these years, the quality of this kind of reasoning to justify fee increases or pay increases is idiotic at best. Shall Singaporeans continue to believe this kind of bull? Without this pay freeze, the universities have already planned to raise fees from 4% to 10% depending on the faculties. They deem it as their right, a natural thing to do. At an average rate of 7%, in 10 years, the fees will be double, and presumably the fees of the academic and non academic staff will be double as well. Then can we ask the question, will the quality of the professors increase accordingly with each pay increase? Maybe. But will his job spec increases accordingly? Or will he still be teaching the same number of students and the same number of hours and modules? Will the quality of each batch of students graduating improve with the same fee increase? For the past decade or so, we have done away with a salary cap. We forgot that the job spec does not change very much. We forgot that the incumbent does not change very much. We forgot that many jobs are still the same jobs 10 years ago. But with an open ended salary, the salary keeps running away. The higher the salary at the top, the more the increases will be and the joker sitting there will laugh all the way to the bank. And this salary increase policy applies not only to the universities but everywhere, you know where. Just look around and ask, what has that person done to deserve another 10% of increases? Is his job getting bigger, he gets smarter, he does something extra ordinary? The only reason that this incessant increases relies on is market forces. Other people are being paid more, so they must get paid more. How silly. But that is how things are. We have thrown away the old concept that a job is worth so much and need only to be paid so much, regardless of how much other people are being paid.

Celebrating Singapore

Taking a magnifying glass and poring over the map carefully, it was with great effort that I found this little place called Singapore. Take another map before the 19th century and you would not find it. And this little piece of rock of 4 million people, actually about 2.5 mil if the non citizens are not counted, is hell of a rich country today. Without any natural resources, we are standing among the rich nations of the world. The most remarkable thing is that we have so much money as a state that we literally did not know what to do with it. Hey, we are talking about a few hundred billions in US currency. The boys must be going ga ga and getting dizzy in their heads. How to put those numbers into perspective? And we trotted around the globe with a handful of rich nations talking about where to put our money. And all the big corporations and nations in need of money will come knocking at our doors, taking a queue number and waited patiently to be welcomed in. Unbelieveable, but this is our achievement. We have plenty of cash. The little catch is that we don't have the people to take care of it. And we do not know what to do with it. So we do charity for the world. We are the number one philantrophist to the world. Take a bow. We deserve it.

Should fare hikes be posted in websites

Public transport companies are having wonderful and informative websites to promote what they are doing and educating and informing the public about the companies and activities. Shouldn't public companies post information on the history, the when and how much were the fare hikes on their websites? Such information are relevant and useful to the public. It is also all about transparency. And these are information that are not only available whenever there is an increase, they are all authorised, approved by PTC. They are not confidential information. I have been trying to find these information in the websites but no signs of them. Public transport companies, please post them on your websites please.

Knowing your place

Today I shall not indulge in matters that does not concern me, matters that should rightfully be the concerns of those who volunteered to care of them. Today I shall talk about things that a kopitiam shall talk about, about things that affect the kopitiam people daily. Let's start at 6am. What would people be doing at 6am when the sun is not even up? Sunrise is now 7am after we amended our time forward. Oh, the 'mummies' must be busy preparing their little kids for school. 6am may even be too late for those living further away. These are real stuff of kopitiams. What else, ha, choping seats in kopitiams with tissue papers. Arrrgggh, such bad habits, offensive, unacceptable. There must be better ways of choping seats. And don't forget to return the plates to the cleaning ah peks or ah mahs. And don't leave a mess after eating ok? Public transport may be something they should talk about. Not the high cost, but about seating on the floors, about peeping Toms, about giving up seats to aunties and uncles and getting annoyed when they don't accept the kind offers. For the young, talk about warcraft, about the latest gadgets and mobile phones, about Stomps, and yes, take pictures for Stomps. And the tai tais, about the most sexy lingeries and where to get them. I think there are many serious stuff that befit kopitiam talks. How nice if everyone will come to kopitiams and talk about such stuff. I think everyone will give me pat on the back and say, 'Good boy, that is your rightful place.'

18 years good enough to invest in stocks

The new ruling has just came out. 18 year olds can trade in the stock market. I don't use the word investing in stock markets. Stock markets used to be a place for long term investment. You put in some money and see them grow with the company. Not today. The stock market is like a casino or worst than a casino. The big players are manipulating the markets at will and investing in stocks is no longer like it was before. It is betting on a position every day, every hour and every second. I don't think it is the right thing for 18 year olds to be in this kind of stock market. We will turn into a nation of gamblers. is this the right way to go? At 18, the possibility of reckless trading is very high. And traders can easily be caught in bad positions and losses can accumulate into a mountain in no time. And the parents will end up bailing these kids out, that is if they are able to or can afford to.

Parliament is not kopitiam

Parliament is the nation's highest body where the ablest men and women gather to discuss serious national issues. There are important things to be raised in Parliament. There are important things to be raised only in kopitiams. One issue I thought would be important enough is the sale of core national assets. We have sold 3 power stations which I believe should be regarded as core assets or strategic assets. They were real things, with buildings, machinery and equipment sitting on the ground. They provided an essential service to the people. We have exchanged them for fiat currency. From the fiat currency we got, we probably have used it to buy other assets which recently have proven to be fleeting assets. Now the money is gone. The fleeting assets have diminished in value. Our 3 power stations also gone. The selling of core national assets must be seriously discussed in Parliament. If we do not need the money, there is no reason to sell such assets. Why trade our core and strategic assets for things that, well, have proven unworthy or worthless? Parliament must review such attempts to sell more national assets in the future and decide whether it is a good thing or a sensible thing to do. At this point in time it has been proven to be unwise. It is like selling Christmas Island. Once sold it is gone forever.

Good that NOL shares were hammered down

Yesterday there was this market rumour that NOL may be making cash calls and its shares were duly sold down. This is what investors should do when companies take the convenient way to demand cash from cash strap shareholders, in a very difficult time like this. I hope investors will continue to sell off companies making cash calls. And it is highly irresponsible for such companies to do so when some don't even need the money or have other sources of fund. What is happening? Are these companies so broke or they have lost their pants somewhere and needing the small shareholders to pay for their folly? Robbing poor Peter to pay Paul?

Growth for what and for who?

Eminnent professor of strategy at the Stephen M Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in the USA is questioning the growth fetishism in Singapore. She is calling for a reexamination of what all the fuzz is about. And it takes someone from the distance, not our world class academia, to discuss such an important matter. Perhaps our brilliant people are all busy making money the best they could for themselves. Dr Linda Lim is a Singaporean based in Ann Arbor. She could see from the distance of things that we cannot see from inside the fish tank. The wide income gap and the high cost of living, and the way we bet big with our national savings are all things that demands a serious relook before they get bad. Where is the debate or concern in this little paradise of super talents, demigods and immortals? Maybe they have more important preoccupations like licensing bicycles or chasing pieces of gold medals in sports, or chasing foreign talents. Should we be pondering over the distribution of wealth and how to spread it around more instead of asking the hardlanders to ever keep on tightening their belts, or to make them pay more as every increase is carefully calculated to be affordable but leaving them with nothing for tomorrow? The ST devoted one page of its paper to Dr Linda Lim Today with 3 separate articles on her and what she had said about our economic growth and strategy.

Just for the record

Monday, 09 March 2009 Se Young LeeDow Jones Newswires Singapore's foreign reserves fell to US$163.55 billion at the end of February from US$167.09 billion a month earlier and was lower than US$171.74 billion a year earlier, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Monday. In Singapore dollar terms, the reserves were S$252.78 billion in February compared with S$252.57 billion in January and S$239.36 billion a year earlier, the central bank said on its Web site. I copy this from Singabloodypore.

Preparing for Change

Is it time for change? Obama took almost one year to prepare the Americans for change. If it is time for change, the people must be mentally prepared for it. Who can do the preparation? The political parties or the media? Which media and who wants change? When people are talking about change, I presume they are talking about political change, a change of govt and a change of policies. There cannot be any major changes or change of policies without a change of govt, or at least a big swing in votes with more opposition candidates in Parliament. And for such a momentous event to happen, a lot of preparation and effort must be put into it. It cannot happen overnight. Neither can it happen spontaneously unless there is a crisis of earth shaking proportion. Then there will be the supporters and forces that will resist change, who would want the status quo. These forces will be working equally hard to avoid change. For the moment the forces against change are having the upper hand. What can be done to keep the call for change and its momentum going? The forces for change will have to start thinking and working now. And I think cyberspace can play a major role towards change by harping about it day and night to create the awareness. The people must be prepared for the change to come if it is to come.

In a state of shock!

Have we been so stunned to inactivity by the financial crisis? After the Reliance Package there were some talks of upturn the downturn and belt tightening. Subsequently there were more calls for trainining. Then what else? With the economy grinding down, with some industries limping, where are the supertalents and their super solutions to the problems facing us? Could more be done to alleviate the situation? Or are we just sitting there waiting for the storm to blow over and then pick up the pieces? Or really there is nothing else that can be done? The people have no talents and they can't do anything. Those with great talents and are paid for their talents should be showing their talents at times like this. We really need them now, badly. Where are they?

Slit wrist or no slit wrist

This is the latest controversy being discussed in TOC. It has taken issue with the facts of the NTU student, David Hartonto Widjaja, who stabbed his professor and was reported to jump to his death but not before slitting his wrist. Nearly every one of the media reported this. TOC had interviewed a student, Edwin Lesmana Tjiong, who said that there was no slashed wrist and this was confirmed by police reports. How could such a big gap of evidence happen? What is going on?

Waiting for Pipe Piper to blow his tune

The Shanghai and Tokyo stock markets have started to stabilise and turned around. Australia has extended its curb on shortselling till the end of May. Proactive govts who are concerned with how their stock exchanges are performing and how to shore up the falling values of the stocks are actively doing their parts. We used to have commentaries to talk up a falling market when the situation justified it. We used to distinguish our markets from the rest as our market was sound. And our market is sound. At least many of the companies are still reeling in millions and billions in profits. Some have cash hoards in the billions waiting to prey on distressed companies. Compare them to the companies in the US when many are insolvents, then we ask the question, why are the values of our stocks being battered down? Taken that some of their revenues will be affected. But they are still healthy companies, especially our banks and blue chips. When will the Pipe Piper stand out to blow his tune? It seems that everyone is just waiting. No one dares to utter his bit if the Pipe Piper does not act. It is like a headless corpse waiting for something to happen. And in the meantime the stockmarket continues to be slammed irresponsibly and billions being lost. There must be a return to value for the sound and profitable blue chips. It would also shore up the values of Temasek and GIC when the values of their stock holdings improve. Their books will definitely look better too. Where is the Pipe Piper?

Monitoring the transport fare increases

Can anyone provide the information on the number and amount of increases by the transport companies over the last 3 years? I am trying to get this info to keep track on how much have been added onto the fare prior to the generous deduction of 2c per trip which commuters are very grateful. Monitoring such increases is very important as it will keep track and a check on what the commuters are paying. More often than not, most tend to forget or ignore the increases as they were done in small bite sizes. Some don't even notice them, like me. I am going to put extra effort now on to follow this closely. I am waiting for a reply from the SMRT on my query.

Can we afford to do away with GRCs?

The relevance of GRC has been a perennial issue in all elections. We have been told of how important it is to ensure minority representation in the govt. Lately we have seen how useful it is for a constituency to continue to be served by other MPs in the same GRC when one has passed away. There is no need to run another costly election and wasting money and time of the people. And no lost of the quality of services to the residence. GRC has many other advantages. It allows a bunch of MPs to enter the Parliament in the same bandwagon, anchored by a strong candidate. Weak candidates need only to hang on tight to the tail coat and he is in. But of course, the sword can cut both ways. GRC can also relieve the hardworking ministers from the Meet the People Sessions if their schedules are too demanding. They can rely on the not so busy MPs to do the mundane tasks of solving residents' problems. I do not live in the GRCs of the ministers and do not know if they spend the same number of hours meeting the people as the MPs. Meeting the People is a very tedious and time consuming job and sometimes may not be too pleasant as well. Today such jobs may even carry the risk of personal injury. I think GRC will grow increasingly important as the ministers and MPs get older and less mobile or have less energy to walk the ground. Leave it to the young beavers.

Celebrating Singaporean - Professor Donald Tan Tiang Hwee

Professor Donald Tan Tiang Hwee In the company of Singapore's finest eye surgeons. That was the privilege I had yesterday when I attended a public awareness talk on cornea donation organised by the Lion's Club of Singapore. And the luminaries that graced the occasion, other than the senior Lions, were Professor Arthur Lim himself and Professor Donald Tan. A/Professor Heng Yim Jin and Dr Lim Li also made their presentation in the public seminar. Professor Arthur Lim has been an authority in eye surgery for many years and is probably the father of this field of medical science, and a mentor to the many fine eye surgeons we have here. It is heartening to know that he has a worthy successor to continue his great works and to make more progress and discoveries in this field. Together, they have made the Singapore National Eye Centre a top class eye clinic and famous around the world. They not only have a superb track record to their credits, including the highest success rate in cornea transplant, lowest tissue rejection rate, lowest cell loss rate, they are also constantly doing R and D to develop new methods and technology in cornea transplant. They improved on the technology and techniques being used, they also developed new techniques that are new frontier science and technology. Such achievements and track records need to be made known to all, especially Singaporeans that we are truly among the best. I have attached a press release by SNEC below to give more details of their achievements, including the technical jargons of cornea transplant and other surgical treatments by other equally great eye surgeons in the Centre. This press release is dated Sep 04 which is not too current, but good enough to so how much they had done since then. SNEC 15TH ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL MEETING The Singapore National Eye Centre will mark another milestone as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary since inception in 1990 with a year-long programme beginning with the SNEC 15th Anniversary International Meeting which will be held from 3 to 6 September 2004. The Theme of the Meeting: Clear Vision for All Ages, represents the mission of every ophthalmologist. There will be a high quality scientific programme featuring symposia, updates, masterclasses, skill transfer courses and live surgery demonstration presented largely by our local ophthalmologists. Renowned ophthalmologists from all over the world are also invited to speak in this Meeting. SNEC will be uncovering some of our new and significant advances from our major subspecialties that will impact the practice of ophthalmology. New Advances in Lamellar Keratoplasty Assoc Prof Donald Tan Associate Professor Donald Tan is the Deputy Director of the SNEC and Senior Consultant and Head of Cornea and External Eye Disease Service. He is also Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute and holds dual appointment as associate professor at the Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore. A/Prof Donald Tan spearheaded the cornea development with the introduction of new techniques of ocular surface transplantation and amniotic membrane transplantation in Singapore since 1997. The SNEC is now the leading Centre in these techniques in Asia besides Japan. In collaboration with dental surgeons from the National Denetal Centre, A/Prof Donald Tan led eye surgeons in SNEC to successfully complete the revolutionary two-stage Osteo-Odonto Keratoprosthesis Surgery to enable a blind boy from Thailand to see. This is the first operations of its kind in South-East Asia. Lamellar Keratoplasty (LK) refers to a surgical procedure in which the anterior corneal layers, to a variable stromal layer depth are replaced with donor tissue. The lamellar keratoplasty is used for the management of various corneal disorders and it is fast re-emerging as a viable option for corneal replacement surgery. SNEC has achieved new and significant advances in the area of LK and recent innovative surgical techniques and tolls are now emerging which allow corneal surgeons to perform LK with excellent visual results. LK has distinctive advantages over penetrating keratoplasty: sutures can be removed earlier, risks for wound dehiscence and graft failure due to allograft rejection are reduced. The need for therapeutic lamellar surgery has become more pressing in Asia, where tectonic and therapeutic indications for keratoplasty remain major indications, and the ability of corneal surgeons to perform “match and patch” grafts of various sizes and shapes allows for treatment of complex disorders such as tectonic lamellar surgery in Mooren’s ulceration and scleral melting after adjunctive pterygium surgery. At the SNEC, a review of indications for lamellar surgery show that 40% of LKs are performed for tectonic indications, while a third are performed for optical reasons, and a quarter for therapeutic indications. Clinical Applications of Optical Coherent Tomography Dr Doric Wong Dr Doric Wong is a senior consultant ophthalmologist with the Vitreo-Retina Department and the Cataract and Comprehensive Department of the Singapore National Eye Centre. He also practises in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Changi General Hospital. Dr Doric Wong spent a year at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, New York, where his focus was on medical retina. His practice encompasses most aspects of surgical retina, specifically retinal detachments, and PVR, diabetic retinopathy, macular surgery and trauma. In medical retina, his interest is on choroidal neovascular disease and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Dr Doric Wong has been invited to lecture and to teach extensively in the region. A high-powered resolution imaging for retina, the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), is now available at the Singapore National Eye Centre. OCT has matured as an investigative tool in ophthalmology over the last few years. It now provides a new and reliable and reproducible way of visualisng diseases of the retina, providing information otherwise not visible through other means. A highly detailed cross-section view of the retina can be recorded using infra-red light and special acquisition techniques. An image akin to one using a microscope to examine a slice of the retina is obtained from a patient’s eye without being invasive. Subtle changes of the retina, and its relationships with structures above and below it can be visualized and documented, helping doctors to understand disease processes which affect the retina and monitor changes with treatment. Femtosecond Laser Technology: Current Status and Future Perspectives The Femtosecond Laser Technology is fundamentally a new technology utilizing the fine precision of a femtosecond laser as a surgical tool and has applications in a host of eye surgeries including its ability to laser as a corneal flap for LASIK surgery to correct myopia, perform corneal transplantation with precise accuracy and also perform glaucoma surgery. The femtosecond laser system has the ability to perform accurate but gentle surgery on the cornea without fist having to apply heavy suction forces and deforming the natural shape of the cornea. The potential of this technology lies in the co-development of new corneal transplantation procedures which may result in improved safety and visual outcomes in patients blind from corneal diseases. For further information, please contact: Ravi Chandran Corporate Communications Executive Singapore National Eye Centre

The widening racial divide

The pain is hurting more with each day passing in Malaysia. The discrimination against the non Malays continues and will continue as a govt policy with BN in charge. Malaysia under the BN is determined to rule the country on the basis of Malay and non Malay. And the ethnic minorities suffer in silence, for too long. But the silence has been broken and they are standing up to say no to such discrimination. Hindraf is playing an increasingly important role in this fight against racial discrimination and suppression, against economic freedom and freedom to choose a way of life.And they are going to sacrifice for the cause with more martyrs to be imprisoned or to be harmed in the process. As the BN continues to build up its Malayness in a country when the Malays is not really an absolute majority, the ridiculous nature of this Malayness is now being exposed. Most of the champions of Malayness are not Malays themselves. Many are Arabs, Indians and Indonesians in orgins. And many have mixed ancestries. The point is more sore when many are new immigrants in the country compare to the ethnic minorities who have set roots here a few centuries back. The people are questioning this Malay formula. What is so Malay about being Malay? As long as the ruling BN continues with this half past six formula to cling on to power, Malaysia will continue to be divided as a country for years to come. Instead of becoming more Malaysian, it is becoming more Malay. Actually this is also a fallacy, it is not becoming more Malay but more rojak Malay. For the new Malays are not Malay in the strict sense but descendants of mixed ancestries. Who is a Malay? And the real bumiputras, the original natives of the land, were also beside sidelined. The Orang Aslis, the Dayaks, the Dusuns, the Ibans and the many tribes in East Malaysia, they do not enjoy the kind of privileges and attention the so called 'Malays' are enjoying. Would the real bumiputras stand up for their rights and rightful place in the country and chase away the pretenders?

HDB is a private commercial organisation, is a....

HDB is private, HDB is public, HDB is a commercial organisation, HDB is a govt organisation, HDB is to build flats for the people, HDB is to make as much profit for its shareholders.... What is HDB? What is the role of HDB? Oh it has been privatised, no longer a govt organisation or stats board. The govt has nothing to do with its policies. 'The Senior Minister of State for National Development, Ms Grace Fu, said yesterday that the HDB is "going to hasten the pace of the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) because we think this is a very good time....Ms Fu assured home buyers yesterday that HDB will "always price (the new flats) with the market price in mind.' This is quoted from the ST today. So is HDB govt or private? Also, this new pricing to the market must be a policy that every MP in Parliament also approved of. Was there any objection to such a policy or were there any question ask in Parliament? Objecting is a non existence word. Asking is the best that the people can expect from their representatives in Parliament.

Don't be stupid

'We have achieved progress with our bilingual education. It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.' Chee Hong Tat, Principal Private Secretary to the MM. I cannot agree more with this statement. The romancing of ethnic, parochial and sectoral emotions and sentiments must not become a national preoccupation. Go on and cultivate, preserve and enjoy your personal romance with whatever holds dear to one's heart. But pushing such agenda is, yes, STUPID. It is stupid, it is stupid. Primordial instinct cannot be given too much of a free play and become a national agenda. The above quote is in the forum page of ST today. I am not sure if the stupid comment was Chee Hong Tat's comment or MM's comment. It is his letter, so it must be his. But the nuances and the familiarity of the stupid comment and its origin is well known. I thought only in cyberspace that such liberal use of the word stupid and expletives are common. I am glad that the main media is also feeling more free to express stronger feelings on issues. I am also glad that a PPS is also comfortable to use such terms in public statements.

Affordability Key to HDB flats

Ignatius Lourdesamy is working overtime to reply to the numerous questioning of HDB pricing of its flats. So far HDB has been explaining that the flats are all affordable as there is a range of flats to fit every pocket. The issue is why are the people not accepting this explanation and why are the people so unhappy with HDB? There seems to be a big gap of difference or perception between the two parties. In a way HDB is right. Just buy within your means. Just work out on 21% of your income and go for the flats that one can afford. The buyers must be wrong here. If they cannot afford a bigger flat, they must buy a smaller one. The other issue which many are still having a big doubt over their heads is with respect to the costing of the flats. First is the commercial interest and market pricing policy of HDB. This must have cheesed off a lot of the buyers. The second point is the costing. How did HDB work out their costs? The most important part of this puzzle is the land cost. I don't think anyone is going to agree with the way HDB cost their land. And that may be the reason why this is often spoken but no details will be given. Then there are the other costs which the people will be curious to know. HDB is a public housing organisation to build flats for the people. It is not a commercial or private enterprise no matter what it calls itself. It has a public responsibility to serve the interest of the people for the privilege position it is in. At the rate it is going, the animosity towards HDB will keep growing when its priorities do not match the perception and interest of the people it is supposed to be serving.

What I would call a badly managed and irresponsible stock market

Financial institutions across the world are licking their wounds and there were many red faces around. One exception is the stock markets. Despite the meltdown, no one is complaining, it seems, and the plight of the investors losing their fortunes were left untold. Many stock markets are victims of the financial tsunami. They cannot be sheltered from the onslaught. But many could have fared better while some actually dealt themselves in with many bad decisions. Some of the things I dread are as follows. 1. Reckless and rapid flooding of the market with IPOs. 2. Lack of control over dubious corporations. 3. Allowing the market to be manipulated or cornered by syndicates. 4. Allowing short selling in an imperfect market. 5. Hands off to irresponsible corporations making cash calls when liquidity is tight. 6. Allowing the erosion of values of stocks when some intervention is necessary. 7. Continue to multiply market instruments through more derivatives. 8. Deregulations when regulations is seriously wanting. These are some of my preliminary thoughts.

GIC lost 25% on paper

The media quoted LKY saying that GIC's portfolio fell 25% from its peak and was managing only $150b. For the 25% fall, I will strongly recommend that GIC take out a couple of billions to reward the staff for such a scintillating performance. It has greatly outperformed the market indices which fell about 40%. On the second point of $150b, I am very puzzled. Why was it reported in so many media reports that GIC was managing something like $550b? This is not a 10 or 20% error. It was inflated by almost 4 times what GIC has. Now, which is the real number? No one should question LKY as he is the GIC Chairman and it was like words from the horse's mouth. Some may wonder how come GIC is managing a portfolio that much smaller than Temasek. But fact is fact. Would the reputable and highly reliable media do some ground work to confirm the facts?

Riding a fast train or a Titanic

LKY had a dialogue with the media organised by Thomson Reuter yesterday. His mind was still as lucid as ever though his body may not be willing. Picturing him climbing the steps to a rally platform or walking the ground is not going to be easy. The question is whether he still wants to be in charge. Some may challenge this proposition, that he is no longer in charge and the baton has long been passed to Chok Tong, and now Hsien Loong. Come again? What would one make out of a man who would jump out from his grave if he senses something is wrong and say that he is not in charge? Then again, with so many hitches and slips and things going badly wrong, LKY is still very cool, as if nothing has gone wrong. Two possibilities. Either nothing is wrong or he doesn't think that they were wrong. If nothing is wrong, he does not need to do anything. If he does not think they were wrong, even if they were seriously wrong, then he still does not need to do anything. So what is happening? Are we like the rich and famous making merry inside a Titanic, having full trust in the ship, the captain and his crew, unknowing of the giant iceberg and rough sea outside, in the dark? Maybe the Titanic is not a good example. We could be in a fast train, rushing at full speed ahead, with clear sky, maybe a bit hazy at times, and under talented drivers. Is there a cliff ahead that the train will fall over? No, all clear ahead. We have control. LKY said he did not see a need for a snap election now. If he is in charge, that's it. If he is not, a snap election there will be. Who is in charge ultimately, or maybe the election is just an issue that the one in charge can step aside but keep an eye on it from the sideline. Will LKY never be in charge?

Rainbows and omens

The sighting of rainbows is now arousing a lot of interests. Every sighting keeps people guessing, is it a good sign or a bad sign? The lightning strike on the merlion is definitely a bad sign. It caused damages and money to repair. And some tourists may not have the chance to take pictures with the merlion in the background. It may be a disappointment in their holidays here. Rainbows are a different kind of things. They don't hurt or harm anyone. Quite a pretty sight actually. And they appear often after a downpour, washing away all the bad stuff in the air and on the ground. It gives the impression of a new begining, leaving the unhappy past behind. A better and promising tomorrow awaiting. That's what a rainbow says.

The next General Election

There have been all kinds of speculation of a snap election. The only thing that got snapped was the merlion. What else will be snapped? Another interesting question that is being raised is the possibility of LKY contesting for another term. How preposterous to suggest that he is too old and should resign. At 85, he has done everything, he should be singing My Way in the karaoke clubs. Now, would the electorate still think that it is worthy and deserving to vote an octogenarian to be an MP? I think everyone will have his way of looking at this queer possibility. There are many reasons for him to stay in politics, and many reasons for him to quit. Should the decision be made by him or should it be a decision to be made by the party, or by the people? The story will not have a pleasant ending should he be voted out by the people. Would he consider leaving a legacy as a never defeated MP? Or would he dally with the possibility of a bridge too far?

Who are the real fools, clowns and traitors?

The silly Chinese were at it again, biting their own backside. In an article by ST's China correspondence Sim Yin Chi, titled 'Not all Chinese backed patriotic buyer', he started his article with words like, Rogue, Conman, Fool, Clown and Traitor, to call Cai Mingcao. Cai Mingcao was depicted as an obnoxious character after his sabotage of the Christie's auction of looted Chinese treasures. Fortunately not all Chinese were against him. Actually only a minority of 22% in a survey. But the way the article was written, it was as if all the Chinese were attacking Cai. I fully endorse and support his action against the auction. When there is no way to obtain justice, when there is a miscarriage of justice by a court that is supposed to deliver justice, what else should the victim do? And what else did the Chinese people say about the French court? Is there any Asian correspondence worth his salt to condemn the French injustice? No, they are just another bunch of stupid Asians who accepted the abuse and injustice of the West , the colonisation, as a right. They deserve to be treated as second class, as fools, to be ruled by the West. Who then are the real fools, clowns and traitors?

Which is a better option?

GIC swop its US$6.88b prefered shares(4% if converted) to 11% ordinary shares of Citibank. At the same time it also forgo a fixed income of 7% returns for a 1c dividend that is not guaranteed. And to make matter worst, the price of Citibank immediately fell from the conversion price of US$3.25 to US$1.50, more than half the value of the prefered shares. And that is not the end of the story. Last night Citibank price fell to US$120, wiping off another 20% of its value. So technically it now has a value of $2.54b. This is only 37% of the US$6.88b. Why would GIC want to do that? Is the additional 7% of Citibank shares that much better than the fixed income of 7% which was estimated at US$480m annually? Or was there unreasonable reasons or pressure for GIC to agree to the conversion? The only way to look at this as a good move is long term. In the the long run, if Citibank price goes up, we will be getting 7% more of its worth. For the immediate, it is a frightening decision. The paper loss over two days is US$4.33b!

Community hospitals up fees

By Amresh Gunasingham on 2 Feb 09 THREE of the largest community hospitals here have raised their prices sharply, and a fourth is set to follow suit. Soaring costs of food, medical supplies and qualified staff had forced them to so, they told The Straits Times. Revised ward charges for the cheapest beds have increased by at least $50. Some patients will end up paying $3,900 - almost double the previous charges - for a typical month-long stay in C-class wards. The above is quoted from ST Online. World class hospitals will end up with world class cost and world class fees. That is basic economics. But we tend to forget if the not world class patients can afford world class fees or need to be warded in world class hospitals. Also, can a middle world class hospital be adequate for not world class patients but charging not world class fees?

Clever Idea!

A Choo Kay Wee wrote to the ST suggesting that the damage by lightning on the merlion be left as it is. His reason is that it would create a lot of interests and people may just want to see it. But his brilliant idea is to charge a fee for people wanting to see the broken head. Now that is simple ingenious. A uniquely Singaporean way to make money at all opportunities. I would suggest to include stories on the significance of the lightining bolt and lightning strike and engraved theme on a plague to be attached to the merlion. That would be a wonderful story.

3 suing HSBC for forex losses

Three foreign investors are suing HSBC for losses in trading forex. They claimed that the banks did not allow them to use certain trading strategies which resulted in the loss. This is a case of clients wanting to use their own strategies but not allowed to. What about cases where stock exchanges allowed unfair strategies or trading practices eg computer trading, cornering the market, short selling, etc to make profits against small investors? Would there be a day when investors will stand up to sue stock exchanges for allowing unfair trading practices to go on at their disadvantage? Is there a moral and legal ground for stock exchanges to ensure that trading practices are fair and equal to all parties? I know that cornering a stock is illegal. To what extent is a situation that makes a stock being cornered? Is a stock cornered when a few parties work in collusion to drive up or down its price and incurring losses to the innocent, ignorant small investors? There must be moral responsibility, justice and fair play in all stock exchanges to ensure that all parties have a fair chance to trade, to win and to lose in the market.

Special Account is for retirement

Farah Abdul Rahim, Director, Corporate Communications, MOM, replied to a Rick Poon who wanted CPF Special Account to be used for education loan. She explained that the Special Account is meant for retirement purposes. Isn't the whole CPF savings meant for retirement purposes? The reality is that it was, but not now. With so many agencies eyeing the CPF savings, and planning their products and services to be paid by CPF money, there is really not much left for retirement. The Ordinary Account will probably be emptied to pay for affordable HDB flats. The more there is in the Ordinary Account, the more affordable will be HDB flats. The Medisave Account will be locked up for that day that may not come. Shouldn't it be time to start another CPF savings scheme truly just for retirement? We have, in the midst of getting to the CPF money, forgot that these are hard earned savings for retirement. Now public policy of housing prices will use the savings in the CPF as a basis to compute affordability. As long as there is money there, the price will match it. Am I wrong? Then we woke up one morning in horror. Why is there not enough money in the CPF for retirement? Why, when we set aside as much as 40% to 50% at one time, and at any time more than 30% of our income into CPF? And still not enough!

MBAs needing help?

Two British dons here to give suggestions to MBA graduates on what they can do in this recession. My eye balls are rolling. Shouldn't these highly qualified and trained professionals be looking after themselves or teaching the more lowly educated populations on what to do? The thought that they are lost and needed help or guidance really baffles me. Dum da da dum dum, dum dum.

How ominous!

It was the lightning bolt. Now the merlion was caged. This latter piece is on the front page of ST today. How ominous!

Where to Ho Ching?

This has been the number one question in many people's mind. There were all kinds of serious and cheeky suggestions, from the Presidency to being a housewife. Let me try another proposition. With the kind of talent and connection, it will be a big waste if Ho Ching makes herself redundant. She still has many good years to come and she can still contribute to the country and the stable of govt link companies. It is far better to get someone who knows to do the job than to hunt around or fish around for another genius to come by. Ho Ching should stay in Temasek and continue with what she is or was doing. Why? After going through all the crisis she must be that much wiser as to the risks involved in managing and investing huge sums of money. And Who else has the privilege of a $58b lesson? Tan Yong Soon only had a $50k lesson in France. I still feel that with such a costly lesson that is difficult to come by, she is even more qualified to do the job. Stay on Ho Ching. No one is more qualified than her to do that job. Of course many of you will disagree. But that's how I see it.

Merlion struck by lightning bolt

"Eyewitness Ms Rina Toh, 17, a barista at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at One Fullerton, said: 'I saw a bright Z-shaped lightning bolt, and it was a lot bigger than usual.' " The above is quote from ST online. Our national icon struck on the head by lightning yesterday. And a piece of the head fell to the ground. Must check with the gods what this sign means.

Notable quotes by Chok Tong

'Find ways to honour seniors' Goh Chok Tong Chok Tong said, "It is timely for us to reflect on how to adapt and adjust to this 'silver tsunami'. How we should relate to the elderly, leverage on their talents and life experiences and honour them for their contributions." He also commented about the trend for children to abandon their parents in nursing homes. He warned that how we treat our old today will set the tone for how we will be treated when our time comes. Yes, what kind of society are we? Compare what Chok Tong said and what Boon Wan has suggested, building cheaper nursing homes in JB and neighbouring countries, we get a different measure of the speakers. What Chok Tong said is like what the Chinese saying, 'ren jiang de hua', or the human lingo. Saying things that reflect human values or being human. There is nothing wrong with Boon Wan's idea. Those are very practical, reasonable, cost effective measures for people who have money not enough. But such things can be done, discreetly, and not spoken with a loud hailer. The things that Chok Tong said above will be received quite kindly and agreeable to most people. In Boon Wan's case, ouch, it hits the raw nerve of humanity, of emotions and feelings. These are the attributes that make human beans human. Devoid of them, down playing them, will turn us closer to being inhuman, inanimate. Use and throw away mentality. Now, would there be criticism or anger to what Chok Tong has said? They will be, depending on which angle one is looking at it. Some may split hairs, question his intent and interest. But generally, these are things that politicians should be saying, national leaders should be saying.

A walk thru Chinatown

With my new blog, Singapore Orchids, I have replaced the orchids in this blog with a new series on Chinatown. Orchid lovers and Jaunty can view the orchids in the link to Singapore Orchids. Cheers.

All the way, DBS-Citibank!

Just as I raised my hope for a 7% dividend, it fell flat in my face. And my estimate was way way off. The 7% would have given a return of US$482m pa. GIC could have the money back in no time. Now it is all gone. But don't worry, there is a better and more promising deal. The conversion price which was US$26.35 was watered down to US$3.25 and the conversion to ordinary shares will give GIC an 11% stake in Citibank, the second largest shareholder next to the US govt. And there are more promises along the way. If the market recovers and Citi's price shot up, we could reap much higher returns. If the market plunges and Citi became insolvent or be nationalised, gone with the wind. But the second 'IF' is only a big If. No need to worry about that. In the long term everything will be fine. Now the more juicy part. If our US$6.88b can give us 11% stake in Citibank, it means that the whole bank can be had for no more than US$70b. This is definitely very affordable. Shouldn't GIC launch a general take over of Citibank and merge it with DBS to become an international giant bank? And another piece of good news. There are so many good news and things are looking much rosier. What's that? Oh, Citibank's share price fell to US$1.55. This simply means we could have the bank for less than US$35b. And with already 11% in our hands, US$30b should do the trick. I don't think the US govt will object if we let Chip Goodyear to negotiate the deal. The US govt must be more comfortable with Goodyear in charge. Wow, I think we have all these planned in advance. Great foresight and pro active thinking and decision making. We must have see all these coming. Go for it GIC! Take Citibank under our wings, but make sure the top management are Singaporeans. The Americans can be co opted as advisers. I will definitely bank with DBS Citibank.

Talk, shout, scream, kpkb, beat the dustbin!

Singaporeans must make noise, make all the noise that is necessary when they see something is not right. For if they don't, it will be taken that everything is alright. See, no one complaining. Everything must be fine. If Singaporeans are willing to accept all the nonsense thrown at them, their money kept away from them, take their money from them, and let things happened the way others want it their way, they have only themselves to blame for the shit that are being thrown into their faces. The fate of the people is in their own hands. And they can't say they have no opportunity to make their views and opinions heard. In the past TOM would have the absolute authority to sieve through what they want or do not want to be printed, to be read. Today the internet is there. Just hit the keyboard and out it goes. No one can stop you, except yourself. It is all up to you now. You can only blame yourself if you allow people to abuse you and rob you of your right, your money and your voice. Go, make all the noise that you want and be heard.

7% of hope

Temasek owns 261 million preferred shares of Citibank that pay 7% fixed returns. What does this mean? 7% of what? 7% of the value of the 261 mil worth of shares or 7% of the par value of the shares? If it is the latter, then nothing much to talk about as the amount will come to about US$18m pa, assuming the par value is US$1. Now, if the return is based on the total sum paid for the preferred shares, eg at US$10 each, the return will be a neat US$180m pa. The amount will vary accounting to the share price agreed upon. This is quite likely as the returns must be gauge against who Temasek could get from other fixed income products other than minibonds. Oh, maybe minibond returns are factored in as these bonds were then yielding 4 or 5% returns. Which is which, this has not been explained. 7% of what? The return must be quite sizeable or else Citi will not be attempting to force the conversion of these shares to ordinary shares earning no fixed returns. Is there a 7% of hope?

Right to know or right not to know?

We have heard the huge losses of Temasek's investment, all $58b! Now, don't ever poof poof this as small change. It is a very huge sum of money. What about GIC? How much has it lost? Rumours and speculations are that it has lost more than $100b! Given the $550b portfolio that it was managing then, it is unlikely that it can escape the meltdown with less than 30% loss. Do the citizens have the right to know how much we have lost? Or shall this be kept under veil in the name of secrecy or professional expediency? Is it acceptable not to tell the people how much we have lost? Is this the people's money? If so, can we ask and be told of the real numbers? Or shall we be complacent and just trust that the money is in good hands?

Minibonds and the stock market - Which is more destructive?

We have seen the victims of the minibonds and toxic financial products. Of course no one is responsible for the mess and the loss of millions from our investors. These investors are expected to be smart enough to know what they were doing, and stupid enough to lose all their monies in things they do not know enough. They should count themselves lucky, to be able to point the fault at the products and the agencies selling them, including the ‘irresponsible’ marketeers. I am not sure if it is fair to blame this group of scapegoats. But what these people have lost in the minibonds is nothing compare to the billions lost in the stock market. Blame it on the contagion effect affecting the whole financial world. No one is to be blamed. Really? OK, OK, better not to blame anyone if we want people to listen. Once people think that they are being put on the spot, their guards will be up. In our hurry to build a big stock market after the collapse of CLOB, have we been too quick and too loose in expanding our stockmarket, with all kinds of stocks from China and a little from other emerging countries launching their IPOs here? Now we are seeing how risky they can be without the close quarter monitoring. We are seeing frauds after frauds, with managements running away or accounting irregularities. Have we thrown caution into the winds just to achieve our ambitious plan of expanding at all cost? Then there is the operating system that favours the big boys who can muscle out the small investors by brute force, force selling all the way down, or vice versa. Not only the investors were hurt, corporations also see their stock values hammered to levels beyond recognition, far below their net asset values. Now IPO listing is a stigma that few would even contemplate. No body have faith any more in IPOs and our market. Derivative markets are as good as dead. Before we ask where are we going from here, please ask how much have been lost, or how many billions have been lost. The sad thing is that unlike the minibond fiasco, it is difficult to pin point at one single fault. So there is no avenue to seek redress. Caveat emptor, caveat emptor! Everyone looks like an angel. Yes I can see the halo ring above the heads. Where is the moral responsibility, the public duty, and professional conduct and accountability to ensure that the system is sound and fair to all participants in the market? Are we happy at the way the market is running and at the way money is being lost in the market? Actually the money were not lost. They were being scooped away. It is high time that something be done to stamp the incessant loss of money in the market? Anyone bothers? Anyone responsible? Who cares, the apple still look ravishingly red and sexy outside. All we are hearing is that we have one of the best regulated market in the world. Best in what and to whose benefit? Anyone want to ask the opinion of the small investors? Who is laughing all the way to the bank? And whose bank accounts are being emptied? It is a tragedy! Nothing less. PS. Japan is worried that confidence in their stockmarket and financial system is breaking down and is seeking ways to intervene in the stock market to prime it up. They are preparing billions to buy into the stock market. I think we will do nothing. It is all caveat emptor. We have the best system in the world, and it will run to a halt on its own. Have faith. Trust that the system is in good hands.

We will

We will look after our old, our weak and our sick! We will house them, feed them and care for them! We will return their savings as promised and not suka suka keep it at our pleasure! We will build housing at really affordable price, not market price! We will build hospitals to care for our sick, not at astronomical prices! Hmmmm, I think any potential political party that adopts the above as their party slogan will be seen as too idealistic, not pragmatic. Maybe foolish.

Ouch! it's painful

In January 2008, GIC invested US$6.88b in convertible preferred securities of Citigroup, which at the time would have given it a 4% stake in the bank if converted to common stock. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last month, GIC now owns a beneficial 5.3% stake, or 303.8m shares, in Citigroup. These include preferred shares that can be converted into 261.1 million common shares. Based on Citi's $1.95 closing price Friday, the stake is worth $592.4 million. The above is an extract from a WSJ article posted in www.littlespeck.com. From US$6.8b to US$592.4, that is less than 10% left. Oooooh, it is so painful.

The enormity of it all

Which is more serious? The escape of an international terrorist who was planning to blow up our airport or the loss of at least $100b of our reserves, or the tax payers' money? Is the selling of the series of minibonds and other toxic products to the public more serious than a stock market beefed up with many dubious stocks or management that we hardly know and accounting systems that are difficult to verify, and a system that allows the big boys to bring the small investors to the cleaners? Both are very serious issues and have very serious implications to the well being of the state and its people. It would be best for the professionals to deal with them in depth than for me to touch on them briefly in an internet forum. Let me deal with the Mas Selamat escape versus the $100b loss. We can look at them from the implications and consequences to come, as well as the lapses and the system to prevent their occurrence. We can also look at the execution and the processes that led to these two incidents. In the Selamat case, we can't imagine how he would hit back and the untold damages and pain that can be inflicted on the people and assets. We can live our lives as if nothing has happened. But wait, if he is around, and should he be successful in what he set out to do before, we will regret deeply for his escape. When it happens, no amount of consolation and remorse can make up for it. No excuses can make up for it. How he escaped and the patching up of the system had been dealt with and hopefully, keeping our fingers crossed, it is not going to happen a second time. And the $100b loss! How long it took to build up this sum of money? How much can it do for the people if we have not lost them? And how long will it take to make back this kind of money? Just think about it. To be fair, some part of the losses are expected given the risk involved in investing. But two points need to relook at. Should so much money be invested in high risk assets? Then the next question is whether some deals were done too hastily, insufficient ground work and effort to understand the risk involved, and could be avoided? And the most silly question to ask is whether we have been too trusting of the Americans? Yes, we lost a lot of money, billions in the last few deals, mostly because of trust. And we put in so much money without even a board representation! What, playing masak masak? Giving away Monopoly Games money? These are huge sums of money that must be carefully handled and managed. The way it was distributed begs for a serious re examination and introspection into our mentality, policies and decision making in these areas. Trust and too trusting will get us only into deep shit. Would there be serious indept analyses of these incidents by the professionals and academics, or would they find them too hot to handle? I will touch on the toxic products and stock market separately.

Cyberspace the next battle ground

From what Hsien Loong had said, cyberspace will be the new battle ground for the next general election. The PAP has been preparing for it and the younger members are being encouraged to play a more active role to lead the charge. He has forgotten that Lim Swee Say will be a more popular blogger if he has his own blog. He has a lot of interesting and captivating stories to attract hoards of bloggers. The new media or cyberspace can no longer be ignored as the backwater that was hardly treaded. Over the last few years it has gained tremendous ground and eating into the readership of the old media. People are looking for alternative views instead of the stead and predictable comments of TOM. And with the flowery and unrestrained lingo used, it is an act that is hard to beat. We will see a battle for readership between the new and old media, one that is more critical and cynical against one that is pro govt and singing praises. Or as Hsien Loong said, the traditional or old media will 'present trusted, unbiased and informed opinions' though a bit tame. On the other corner (I said) will be the untrusted, biased and less informed opinions of the new media, but sexy and attractive. And don't forget the power of podcast and pictures. The presentation of the most beautiful angle or the ugliest angle can make or break a candidate. Imagine one getting caught on video or photos in the most compromising position, I mean like digging the nose. Pictures can tell a very distorted story. An ugly or hostile face will be a put off immediately. Now this is not going to be the protected turf of TOM any more. Both can print whatever they like, selectively, and definitely biased. Oops, TOM's pictures will be unbiased. Only the pictures of new media will be biased. Interesting scenarios coming up. I doubt TOM will be anything given its slow printing schedule.

Notable quote by Hsien Loong

'On a long term basis, overall, the way the Govt has managed the money, we haven't done badly.' Lee Hsien Loong I disagree. We have managed our money well until we started the shopping spree. And the last few deals to buy the banks, were at best, good intention but poor execution. Losing $100b can never be called 'haven't done badly.'

The end of the Shopping Spree

It was great fun going on a shopping spree with a container of cash. Better still when it is other people's money. Take all the credits and big bonuses if it turns out right, and if not, well, so be it. Buying the world is not as simple as it turns out to be. When everyone plays by the rule, proper trading practices, it should not go too far wrong. Unfortunately the world is infested with thieves and conmen of all disguises. Now we have came home with a basket of rotten eggs. And the rotten eggs will not become fresh any more. Caveat Emptor! Would it be easier and safer to invest at home? Here every element is under our control and supervision. The entities are known and can't go too far wrong. But we have neglected our own local companies and the stock market. They have been ruined. Big funds were allowed a free hand and free play to destroy the values of our stocks and emptying the pockets of our small investors by sheer muscles. It is time that we look inward, use our own funds and take on these big funds, save our market, the stock value of our companies, and the small investors. With $1b and the connections, it is so easy, yes, so easy to lick the big funds and make them pay for their waywardness and destruction of our wealth, the wealth of corporations and individuals. Overseas shopping spree is over. Time to help ourselves and save ourselves with our own money. No more dumping in unknown land, unknown companies and management, and ended with baskets of rotten eggs. Play in a pool that we know well. We have comparative advantages.

Licensing of bicycles

I read that this important issue was raised in Parliament. And there is a case for licensing bicycles and the problem is only about how ugly and big the licence plate will be. I am not sure if the issue of moderation or self regulation in cyberspace was also raised after the comments by Lui Tuck Yew. The last few days were all about whether a snap election will be called. Seriously, do we have time for all these? Shouldn't people be cracking their golden brains, planning and scheming on how to get back the billions that we have lost? Come on, this is the hottest issue not only in cyberspace but kopitiams as well. The comments in kopitiams were no less wild, pointed and vulgar than those in cyberspace. Now I am allowing my imagination to go a little while after a breakfast of plain porridge and black soya source. I tried that to relive the memories of the 50s and 60s when this was the staple food for many. And they didn't have that for breakfast, but as their main meals, lunch and dinner. It tasted quite plain actually. Should I go for Ah Koon's breakfast set? I digressed. More signboards are coming up in kopitiams and hawker stalls. Self regulations when commenting on social and political issues. No vulgarities. Not tantrums. 'KNN, why got so many signs ah! Kong si mi?' I turn around to see a few Ah Peks pointing at the signs using their middle fingers. On another corner a few Ah Peks were in serious discussion to form a committee and to set up rules and regulations on what are acceptable or unacceptable comments and lingos. A code of conduct is also being drafted up. One even suggested wearing T shirts with logos to tell the other Ah Peks who they are, Kopitiam Moderators.

The 2 cent debate

Singaporeans were all high and excited debating about the 2c savings that the PTC had granted them during this financial crisis. There were excitements everywhere, in the old media as well as cyberspace. The professionals went to town literally, interviewing the grateful commuters for the savings that would have brought them some relief and easier on their pockets. The PTC must have spent many hours debating among themselves on this big decision before agreeing to the reduction. I remember the MYCD took a year to study before increasing the public assistance grant from $360 to $390. And the President took 11 days to approve a $4.9b withdrawal from the national reserves. I wonder if the PTC needed to agonise over this 2c reduction? But all these cannot beat the 2c debate and the expectations of compliments from the grateful commuters. Would the media would be conducting straw polls and interviews on the street on issues like the $58b loss from our investment of public fund, with more losses waiting to be announced? I don't remember any such exuberance when the news broke out. It is kind of a sad that people should all be excited over 2c. What kind of existence is that, worrying about 2c everyday? They will probably hit a state of delirium when their salary is raised by another million dollars. Just sharing my 2 cent's worth.

Burning rage of taxi drivers

The media interviewed a few taxi drivers last night and you can tell that they were very unhappy with the lower ridership and lower income. They complained to the media that taxi fares must come down when the fares of trains and buses are coming down. They are losing more passengers in this hard time to trains and buses. It hurts their income for sure. But they could not reduce their fares as the rentals for the taxis are still high and eating into their income. Wait a minute, in an earlier post I quoted a media report that several small taxi operators wanted to reduce the taxi fares. Oh, now I see. Lowering fares without lowering operating cost and rentals of taxis will not do. It will mean high cost low income. What about the views of big taxi operators? They are for high fares. Lowering of fares will reduce the income of taxi drivers. True, true, I agree. No doubt about it. But can they reduce the taxi rentals? Now, that is a very difficult question. No, they are not considering it. They are thinking of other ways of promoting taxi rides like talking to corporations and giving discount vouchers to encourage ridership. Discount vouchers? Discount from whose income, taxi operators or drivers? My question is, why waste all the money and effort to promote to a small group of users? If, I say if, the discount is from the taxi operators, why not simply lower the rental and its equivalent in fares? Why not? They must have good reasons to do so. In the meantime the taxi drivers can continue to fester in their burning rage. Please don't burn anyone, please. Maybe this is why taxi drivers are prone to start fires.

SMRT and buses cut fares

The Public Transport Council(PTC) is showing its caring side by announcing a reduction in SMRT fares ranging from 2c to 18c or a bit more for those who need to transfer from bus to train and vice versa. The more the commuters do their transferring acts, the greater will be their savings. The transport operators will be transferring the savings from govt subsidies to the commuters. I was worried for them for a while when I thought they would have trouble explaining to their shareholders for the loss in profits with the reduction. SMRT claimed that it would have to fork out another $30m to $40m even with the govt subsidies. Would they be incurring a loss then? Maybe not with oil prices coming down rapidly to almost its previous level and with the big increase in ridership. My prediction is that SMRT will chalk up even bigger profits next year. Good for them. Let me compute how much savings will I get before I pop that bottle of champagne. 2c a trip, 2 trips a day and 22 trips a month. Viola, I save 88c! So I will be able to go for that additional cup of kopi in the hawker stall. Not bad. My cost of living is coming down. For those taking buses, the savings could be 20c or more per trip. Very good. Maybe I shall take buses instead and save more. Better still, take bus, train, bus combination, maybe I can save enough for two plates of chicken rice. Great idea.

Second key tested!

Chua Mui Hoong in her article today in the ST is all praise for the second key system. It has been tested and it works. It works so smoothly like a well oiled machinery. Everything goes without a single hitch. The system has been perfected over time. What if the President said no? Or what if the Presidential Council said no? These are highly unlikely scenarios. But let's say if it happens, what's next? The request to dip into the reserves goes back to Parliament for another debate, repackage and re submit to the President? Could there be a provision somewhere that after 3 rejections by the President the request should automatically be passed in Parliament? Or would there be a vote of no confidence on the President and a new elected President be elected? Or would the govt just accept it and say can't do anything to help the people because the President said no and no money available? Has this part been tested? How smooth will it be?

Time for a one party dictatorship

We are in a major crisis. We cannot afford to have a weak govt. We cannot afford to have all the politikings going around and sapping away the energy of the govt. We need continuity so that the govt can plan ahead to overcome this crisis. All the conditions are ripe for a single party govt to manage the country over the long haul. A combative democratic process is unhealthy. We have lost probably $100b or more of our reserves. And we don't even know how much is our reserves or how much we have lost. Someone told me not to worry, we have much more in reserves than officially announced. Actually it is frightening if losing $100b is seen as nothing. We need really able men and women to make sure that our reserves keep growing and being protected. And if we are to have able people managing them, a one party dictatorship is the way to go. Through our experience many good men and women would not want to be involved in the rough and tussle of running for election. A single party dictatorship will give the govt full authority to appoint the good men to office, something like the American president appointing his cabinet. There were signs of an election coming with the electoral list being updated. The media reported that there were no new faces doing the walkabout, indicating that the team will stay put. This could be a possibility. How about the possibility of an election for a dictatorship or a single party rule? Like I said above, a dictatorship or single party rule has the flexibility for the power to appoint the office bearers. No neeed new faces to walk about and be recognised or to learn the rope of garnering grassroot support. Is it possible? But this is not the issue. The main issue now is for a sustainable govt to be in place for a long time to overcome this crisis. The people must close rank and support the govt, stay together and cut down on all the bickering and allow the govt to do its job. Maybe 10 years, 20 or 30 years, we shall overcome.

Notable quote by Ong Teng Cheong

“My loyalty is first and foremost, to the people of Singapore. It has always been so, and will always remain so.” Ong Teng Cheong, First Elected President.

Time to face the crisis squarely

All the ifs and buts and maybes must be put aside. We are facing a crisis. There is no where to hide. The country is facing a crisis. The people are also facing a crisis. It is time the man himself calls for a TV conference and talk to the nation. I would expect the man to say, look people, we are in difficult times. The whole world is also in difficult times, and we are not alone. Yes, we have been hit. Some of our investments have gone sour. Here are the numbers. We have so much and we have lost so much. Period. Now we need to go forward together in this crisis. We are family. We will face this crisis head on, squarely. We will do everything we can, for the country and for the people. Let's stand united, lock arms, as one people, one nation. We shall overcome. Thank you and have a good nite sleep. It is not the end of the world.

Obama under threats

The American corporations and thieves are holding Obama at ransom. If he does not give them the billions they are asking, they will bankrupt all the big corporations. What they did not tell him is that if the CEOs are not going to be paid well, they will turn to corruption. But one thing for sure, they are threatening to jump ship and join other companies. Maybe they will come to Singapore. We are probably the only country left in this world that has the money to pay them and is happy to have them. Our headhunters are very busy these days reading their resumes.

Earn that Sir!

This is the title of an article written by Dr Tan Chek Wee in Today. He talked about people demanding to be addressed as Sir even in the community. I have borrowed this title to replace the original title of this article which was 'Dark Clouds over the Istana.' Since our independence as a nation, the office of the Presidency has never been in question or a subject of controversy. All the past Presidents from Yusof Ishak to Wee Kim Wee were well regarded in their ceremonial roles. Then came the Elected President with a more important task to guard our reserves. Other than these nothing changes. And Ong Teng Cheong was highly respected for his role and short stay at the Istana. He wanted to do his job well and took it very seriously. Today we are seeing this huge controversy over the Presidency. The Office is even paid more the the President of the US. For doing what? People are questioning almost everything about the Presidency, from pay to how it is being elected and the effectiveness of its role in guarding our reserves. Why should the highest office of the country be subject to so much cynicism? Maybe we should go back to the drawing board and start all over again. Remove all the elitist barriers and return the right to this office to every Singaporean, rich or poor. Every Singaporean must have the right to stand for election as the President of the country. It must must not be the exclusive right of a few rich and powerful. And we should borrow the American practice of allowing the President to appoint his own team of advisers once he is elected by popular vote. No elected president is allowed to take office by walkovers. Perhaps, when people see that the elected President is able to exercise indepedence by the system that brings him to office, will the controversies go away. An Elected Presdent must be elected by the people, from the people and be able to execute his duties independently. I am not saying that the current President cannot exercise his duties independently. And the public is also not saying so.

16th most viewed local blogs

OUTBOUND PAGEVIEWS 1 theonlinecitizen.com 6088 2 wayangparty.com 5185 3 tankinlian.blogspot.com 3981 4 singaporemind.blogspot.com 3968 5 http://www.sgpolitics.net/ 3338 6 http://www.pressrun.net/ 2358 7 mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com 1878 8 mollymeek.livejournal.com 1559 9 feedmetothefish.blogspot.com 1516 10 seijieiga.blogspot.com 1483 11 scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com 1340 12 hardhitting-nobs.blogspot.com 1314 13 singaporecitizen.wordpress.com 1206 14 jg69.blogspot.com 1175 15 blueheeler.wordpress.com 1159 16 mysingaporenews.blogspot.com 1111 17 http://www.nowhere.per.sg/ 1064 18 forums.hardwarezone.com.sg 931 19 singaporelifetimes.blogspot.com 931 20 groundnotes.wordpress.com 920 21 http://www.yawningbread.org/ 873 22 wayangparty.wordpress.com 738 23 kakowi.wordpress.com 731 24 http://www.mrbrown.com/ 700 25 singaporeanskeptic.blogspot.com 700 26 wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.com 699 27 singabloodypore.rsfblog.org 677 28 melvintansg.blogspot.com 630 29 gssq.blogspot.com 623 30 singaporealternatives.blogspot.com 604

What's the big deal?

The current financial crisis is not really a crisis if one is prepared to look at the problems objectively. We are not the poor beggars of third world countries. In fact many Singaporeans are still very rich, worth half a million or a million at least, in assets. See, the problems start to fritter away when you are clear and see things in the correct perspective. Unlock the value of your assets. Singaporeans can't go around begging when they are living in big houses or expensive flats. Those in 5 rm flats can downgrade to 4 rm, 4 rm to 3rm. They will be cash rich immediately. When the finances are not in order, how can they still think of staying in 5 rm or 4 rm flats and ask the govt for assistance? And for the 3 roomers, go for the HDB studio or go for rentals. They must thank the govt for the foresight to build more smaller flats and rental flats. But a better solution is to sell and take all the monies to neighbouring countries like China, India and Indonesia. JB is not a bad place too, cheap and good. And one can live in peace without worrying about old age and being sent to JB's nursing homes. Go there now and chop a place first. Brilliant huh?

11 days to unlock the reserves!

Nathan said it took him 11 days to say yes to dipping into the national reserves. Or was it 1 day since the official proposal was submitted to him and he approved it on the next day? Or would it be better if he sat on it for a month before deciding on it, perhaps taking some time for deep prayers and seeking divine guidance? Is the number of days an issue? I think not. When an issue like this comes up, it must be seen from the merits of such a request and all the circumstances that are pushing for it. What should be adequate is for able men in the Presidential Council to deliberate and make their recommendations to the President based on their independent judgement of the case. One may want to ask whether this is possible but that is very subjective. Anyway, what is $4.9b when we have a few hundred billions in the reserves? The more important question is how much of our reserves have been lost. Can the President or Parliament enlighten the people on this? When the unofficial numbers are so staggering, it is necessary to clear the air and set the record straight and move on from there. No amount of shadow play can avoid or delay the disclosure. It must be out. It must be told even if the chin will drop to the floor.

Selfish capitalism

A reality check In today's troubled times, Singapore's political leaders and businessmen may do well to read what is published here. The Times UK. Feb 16, 2009 By Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester Pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth: sometimes it feels as if Britain is in the grip of the seven deadly sins. There are arrogant politicians, greedy bankers, lecherous television presenters, furious trade unionists, obese children, competitive shoppers and an underclass of people who do not work. To the doom-mongers, British society is not broken, it is shattered. According to the Archbishop of Westminster, the economic downturn could be the very thing that brings us to our senses. “It's the end of a certain kind of selfish capitalism,” Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said. “This particular recession is a moment - a kairos - when we have to reflect as a country on what are the things that nourish the values, the virtues, we want to have ... Capitalism needs to be underpinned with regulation and a moral purpose.” ... "It has been difficult to bring up children with the kind of values we want. Let's face it, we now have a ‘me, me' society, a more consumerist society, a utilitarian society, and our values and virtues have become diminished." “Some of it has got to do with having too much. If your worth just depends on your wealth, that is not healthy. Your worth should depend on who you are.” Nothing exemplified this better than the bonus culture in the City. “I hope people have come to their senses. I don't know why they got such big bonuses. I would cut them out altogether.” Bankers, he said, “were just wanting to make profits but in ways that were rash, and they thought they could continue on this bonanza without querying their excesses. "The industry is so focused on money. Unless that is underpinned with a moral sense and regulation that makes it clear money is only a tool for living, then it is wrong. I think sometimes there weren't enough controls on the City. The above is an extract of an article posted in www.littlespeck.com. The full article, though about Britain, is a good reflection of the woes and sickness of the capitalist countries we are in today.

Are our reserves affected?

We have been told that Temasek lost $58b and GIC is likely to fare worst in absolute numbers, maybe more than $100b. The combined sum is no small change, not the kind of money that people burnt away for the nether world. This is real money and a huge sum in all counts. So, how much of the loss is from our reserves? Or shall I ask, are our reserves affected at all? Can we presume that GIC and Temasek are managing some money that came from our reserves, or what they are managing are independent funds that have nothing to do with our reserves? If the latter, then there is no need to ask further questions about losses or depletion to our reserves. So far we are led to believe, from all the official statements made, that there is a dent, big or small depends on one's appetite, in our reserves. Sometimes back the media reported that our reserves were about $200b. If the combined losses of GIC and Temasek were part of this $200b, we are in big trouble. Oh, another question. How much of the reserves or the losses were the people’s money from the CPF? I am asking these questions because they have not been asked and it is awkward to expect the MPs or ministers from the govt to ask them. I will be glad if they prove the public expectations wrong and start to ask for more clarifications instead of leaving the bulk of the asking to the NMPs and opposition MPs. Inderjit Singh is one of the few exceptions to ask questions related to our reserves. But we are not getting any wiser and the above questions could clear some air as to how bad is the damage to our reserves, if there is any damage at all. The other incredulity is that despite the thick layers of protection to our reserves, once in the hands of fund managers, they could be used for high risks investments. We protect our reserves from our people but not from fund managers. Does this make sense? Oh, if all the money lost is not part of our reserves then all my comments are hot air.

Singing the Singapore Song

Obama and Congress are tightening the screws on the thieves in Wall Streets. And the thieves are screaming, 'If you don't pay us well, we will jump ship!' Now, after the mess they created, who or which country will be in the right frame of mind to want to pay them more to bring them into their fold? Or which country will have so much lose change to pay these thieves the ransom they are asking? I forgot to add that the restrictions placed on the compensation of these thieves are only good in paper. They are exceptional talents and will find ways to pay themselves whatever they deem fit. A thief is always a thief, no matter how much he is paid.

The inhuman factor of JB nursing homes

The netizens are getting violent over Boon Wan's suggestion that the old people be put up in nursing homes in JB. His idea makes perfect sense from the business point of view. Provide a service or product at a competitive price and sell. But he forgot the human or inhuman factor in his suggestion. The response from the caring and feeling netizens, unlike the uncaring elite, was furious. How dare he suggests putting the oldies in JB? For every oldie is either a father/mother or grandpa/grandma to somebody. It strikes hard at the emotional cord attaching to the heart, for those with a heart. They could not accept the idea of abandoning their no longer useful to society oldies in a foreign land. Somehow for the sake of being utilitarian, for being moneywise, prudent, we forgot that family, filial piety, love and care and the emotional attachments to parents and family members cannot be measured in monetary terms. Only animals could do that sort of things, calculating whether it is worth the while and how much can be saved. It is the duty of the family, the children, to look after their parents. It is the duty of the govt to provide the facilities at affordable cost, even at subsidised cost, to promote family values and human values of kindness, compassion, caring and loving for their love ones. In our selfish way, we even ignore the feelings of our neighbours. How would they feel when we want to resite our Sago Lane in the midst of their country? If we think our oldies are not good enough to stay with us, why is it good enough to stay with them? Are we becoming inhuman all because of money? Where is the milk of humanity?

Slowly but steadily

The people are getting wiser by the days, and so are the MPs. Both are beginning to realise that the money in the Medisave is the people's money, kept there to pay for medical bills. Why are there so many regulations preventing the people from using their own savings to treat their illnesses? When has it become the right of the govt to dictate how and what the money can be used for? It is not the govt's money, not a govt grant, not a subsidy, not charity. It is the people's money. Now there is a big debate on whether to let the money be used overseas where the medical cost is cheaper. Hey, think utilitarian, make the money work for the best value it can get, be it JB or Bangkok or anywhere else. Why should the people be allowed only to spend their money in expensive set ups here? It can be depleted very fast.

Notable quote by Lim Hwee Hua

Reserves won't be depleted They are long-term investors and Govt is confident they will deliver: Lim Hwee Hua In 8 months we have lost $58b or 31%. The numbers for GIC is still not disclosed. If one is to extrapolate the numbers, how much more can we lose? Not a reasonable assumption or trend of thought? When we bought into the distressed banks, did we think that losing 70% or 80% is possible? No, conventional wisdom says it was not possible. Can our reserves be depleted? God knows. Any human beans can guarantee that it will not? I don't think any human beans should ever try. But if you are not any ordinary human beans, maybe can. Also if the reserves can be topped up again and again, then it will never be depleted. Now, what or how much would it be considered as being depleted? Is 30% or 40% a depletion? If yes, it is already depleted, by $58b. Or $58b is just another peanut?