nkf story - intermission

Intermission Yesterday was a good break. It allows everyone to reflect on the facts that were presented by Shanmugam, what had actually happened, and where to go from here. From a purely 'be successful and be admired as a talent' point of view, the two persons, or more persons that should be laughing and having a good time would be Durai, Matilda and the other defendants. They have been there, done it, and enjoyed all the good things that money and power can provide. Travel to all the nice places around the world, flew first class, enjoyed all the fine food, and meeting all the nice people, and have friends in high places. Just look at how they dressed up for their court appearances... oh mine, the cost of each suit would be enough to fill my wardrobe, oops I mean cupboard, for 10 years at least. And the newspapers printed their best smiles and best angles for all to go gaga everyday. This is real showbiz at its best. Now you know why the big smiles and the exaggerated and cultivated way of walking and gesturing. It is all for the catwalk. And the best part, there is no need to feel ashame, remorseful or even a word of apology to anyone cheated in the process. These are feelings associated with the failures and untalented. And what for when the bank accounts are stashed with cash? All they get is admiration for being so talented and so successful, and so clever, so cool, so smart looking... Legal fees, no sweat. So much money to spare. Looking for role models for successful Singaporeans or how to be successful in a modern world?

nkf story - the revelation to come

The startling revelation to come What we are about to see in this show is that all the experienced, highly qualified and worldly wise professionals and experts will now have to prove that they were all ignorant and innocent little children. Their only ground of defence is to plead naivity. 'I don't know what is happening. I was just there for the party, for the tea and cakes.' This will give a stronger case for tightening of corporate governance and nailing responsibility onto directors who otherwise think that being a director is easy money and no responsibility.

nkf story - why the disappointment?

I just read the papers this morning and the impression I get is that people were disappointed by the early concede by Durai. And their reason is that they will miss out on the juicy details when Durai is grilled by the legal counsels. Then came the consolating thought that Durai will not go away but can still be called upon as witness by the other defendants. It is a case of waiting for the Middle Weight and Light Weight rounds after the Heavy Weight round was rudely ended by a technical KO. Poor Durai. He can't avoid being the main star of the show. What is pertinent is that his admission of wrongdoings would seriously compromise the positions of the other defendants. His admission would mean that all the allegations by Shanmugam stays, that they are as what Shanmugam set them out to prove. Now Shanmugam needs not prove them and the fiefdom and the cronies are true. It is now the turn of the cronies to prove that they were not cronies. But to absolve them from blame, they must prove beyond that, that they are worst than cronies. That all decisions were taken by Durai and either they did not know, were not party to it, or were slaves and thus have diminished responsibilities.

nkf story - ko in round one

10 sec into Round One and the World Heavyweight Champion was KO by a barrage of body blows from his challenger. This is as close as it gets to what had happened today of the NKF Showdown in High Court. Yes, Durai had conceded the case and accepted full liability even before he was asked to make his defence. What happens to this formidable and dynamic CEO who had won two fights and took on the SPH and was confident of winning his case and a $20 million damage claim? What could be the reasons for him to throw in the towel without a fight? One possibility is that the plaintiff has all the evidence given their accessibility to all the information available and also those Durai had deleted but knew that they had been recovered from his computers. It is also not far fetched to assume that some of his employees or directors would turn up as witnesses against him. Then there is also a big possibility that one of the key defendants could turn prosecution witness and nail the coffin. Everyone, including all the directors would be fighting to save their own skins, especially those who have not benefitted from all the wrongdoings. Now the ominous remark in Durai's letter, 'I know this will be painful to my wife who has to contend with the little resources I can provide her and the children...' is becoming a reality. Whatever that he got from the NKF may not be enough to pay for all the legal fees and the damages that the new NKF is going to claim against him. Poor chap, and his poor wife and children. But that will not be the end of him in this showdown. He is likely to be called upon as witness by the other defendants to be cross examined. And for those who are waiting for a command performance by this living legend of the old NKF, they will not be disappointed. For the meanwhile the spotlight will now be on Richard Yong, Loo Say San and Matilda Chua and the rest of the board of directors. (end of Chapter One).

nkf story continues

And the story continues. I was very touched and almost moved to tears by Durai's reply to Richard Yong's recommendation to pay Durai 8 months' of bonus. And I can agree that Durai had worked extremely hard to raise $22 million for the NKF. "We cannot commend you enough. We cannot compensate you enough. My colleagues and I want you to know how much we appreciate your painstaking work and sacrifice. As a token of our appreciation, we would like you to accept a bonus of eight months' salary.' It was indeed a small token of appreciation. And it was indeed a sacrifice. Durai replied that he would only accept 5 months. 8 months were too much. And he had good and legitimate reasons. 'I am unable to accept the bonus of 8 months salary as I would not be doing justice to the hundreds of patients whom I have to cajole to pay their fees - which they do grudgingly. I know this will be painful to my wife who has to contend with the little resources I can provide her and the children...' Poor thing. And the last I heard, because of his sacrifice and miserable peanut salary, he was living in a rented property. He could not afford to buy his own property. How mean of NKF to pay him so little. It was not only Durai, but his poor wife and children that had to live with so little that he got from NKF. And he rejected to take more. How about a Noble Peace Prize for self sacrifice to aid other suffering human beings?

new nkf versus nkf 2007

Today we got a sneak preview of the greatest NKF Showdown that all Singaporeans have been waiting for. The debut of the battle at High Court, and if this is what things are going to be like, is going to be as glamorous as any other shows that Media Corp can ever produce. Making his entrance was TT Durai, carrying his charming and suave personality as he strode in, accompanied to court by his equally imposing legal counsel. He was calm, relax and appeared to have everything in control, just like before, everything carefully scripted. It was indeed a commanding presence befitting what Durai represented and was well known for, a consumate CEO of a multi million dollar organisation. Nothing in this world could ruffle him and spoil his day. Then came Richard Yong, his hair nicely gelled and sculptured, and in his immaculate suit, and a beautiful little coloured handkerchief protruding from his vest pocket. With his trade mark 3 piece suit he easily outshone Mark Ng and was a class of his own. It was all class fit for a movie star. He came with an entourage around him, an influential Chairman indeed. The High Court suddenly came alive when a vibrant and smiling Maltida Chua waltzed in. She was the happiest personality to have graced the sombre looking court. Anyone seeing her would not be mistaken to think that she was there to attend a birthday party of a close friend. There was not the slightest worry on her face as she strutted along, probably very confident that all was well. Talking about worry, Loo Say San seemed to be the odd man out. He was everything worry was. Worry was written all over him. On his face, on his shirt and in the air around him. No, he did not attempt a smile. Maybe he had forgotten how. But the greatest surprise, or no surprise at all, was the dark horse in the name of Pharis Aboobacker. No you could not see him. Was he there or was he not there, or was he ever was there? The other key player representing the whole of the New NKF was none other than the famous Shanmugam. And he made his presence felt immediatelly by saying a simple word, 'cronies'. Whatever that meant, there was immediate objection from the otherwise happy party goers and glamorous dignitaries of a once high profile corporate world. 30 lawyers in all were there. I am trying to count how much will this show eventually will cost. Then there are the hidden cost of the dressers to dress up the players and their expensive and branded wardrobes. And the catwalk consultants making sure that each step was meant to be where it landed for the cameras. All the fashion gurus and newsmakers should be there to cover this great show of the year. Even the newspaper played the part that it should by giving the Show frontpage and extensive coverage. And the photos of the main actors and actress were honoured in full colour. The supporting cast would have to make do with just black and white.(To be continued) _________________

double rainbows double blessings

Looks like the double rainbows are giving good reasons for a pay rise in all sectors. More jobs, tight job markets and pressure to attract and retain talents. Soon we will hear organisations losing staff or talents and need to boost salary to attract more and better talents. What is this talent that we are talking about? The talents at the top are all very well paid and very settled in where they are. It is very difficult to move them around unless there are very exceptional reasons or perks. Also it is very difficult for them to move around as well as many are actually no longer marketable. There are in positions and earning incomes that are beyond their worths and no one will want to offer them more. Peter's Principle. One very special group of talents that are highly mobile and marketable are the young talents, the second upper and first class honours grads and less than 5 years in a organisation. Because of the squeeze in starting salaries over the last few years, many are not getting paid their worth. This is especially so in the civil service. In the private sector, a talented two to three year graduate could be getting $4k to $5k. In the civil service, many will not smell $3k. And for them to be in the civil service, they are the cream of the crop. Head hunters will definitely be targeting this group of young talents, under paid but all with good honours degree. Where else can they find such talents except in the civil service. Those with similar talents in the private sector will be amply rewarded as the private sector is more aggressive and nimble. We can expect to see more musical chairs as the music begins.

another way of celebrating singaporeans

Something like celebrating Singaporeans is how Singaporeans or Singaporean Institutions celebrate Singaporeans by treating Singaporeans well and better, also making good business sense. Nur Dianah Suhaimi covered the hotel scene and listed a number of hotels, including big names that offer special rates to Singaporeans. And the discount could be a hefty 50% from foreigners. What a way to go to make Singaproeans feel that they are Singaporeans, to be treated better at home. Now, who else shall learn from this?

population growth not essential to wealth creation

Why the population is not essential in wealth creation Kan Seng is repeating the call to Singaporeans to be nice to foreign talents and to encourage them to settle here. I think we must also remind the foreign talents to be kind to the less talented Singaporeans and stop calling them silly and stupid, and stop bullying the locals. The position of the govt is very clear, so clear that no one is saying otherwise. Not even in the academic world or economic and social thinkers. Or maybe all wise men think alike. Singapore must grow its population or perish. That is probably the true reason why no one is coming out with a counter argument against growing the population to 6 or 8 million at such a rapid pace. At least no Singaporeans will be foolhardy enough to say the unpleasant. The MSM too is agreeable to this school of thought. It is just a school of thought. Not unlike Keynes versus the Chicago School of thought on expansionary monetary policies or restraining and reducing expenditure to manage the economy. I think the MSM has a change of mind and is trying to say something to the opposite in the best way it can. There is an article by Victor Mallet from the Financial Times today with the title in the above heading of this post. It quoted several eminent economists trying to debunk the myth that countries need population growth to sustain their growth. They pointed to the contrary, saying that if population growth is critical to economic growth, then countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Africa and Latin America would be rich. Mallet started by saying 'I wanted to debunk the idea that countries with falling numbers of inhabitants were heading inexorably towards social and fiscal disaster or even extinction...A year on, there are encouraging signs of a change in attitudes. In particular, economists are increasingly challenging the myth that population growth is essential for economic growth.' It is a different issue if a country is facing negative population growth and needs to boost up the declining numbers. Small is not necessary a disadvantage. We have capitalised on our smallness to grow in quality. Growing with more rubbish will mean more rubbish is what we get. Mallet quoted Richard Jackson, director of the global ageing initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, 'We should also ask why policymakers focus on absolute economic growth rather than the per capita income growth that would make more individuals better off. Even if one accepts the economic need to boost a country's workforce, increasing the entire local population is a crude way to do it. In Japan - where the population is shrinking, remember - the labour force has been rising this year as older people rejoin the workforce and more women take jobs. The truth is that nations with small, stagnant or falling populations can produce strong economic growth.' Mallet concluded by saying that it is a natural or normal tendency for the wealthier population not to reproduce as many as the third world population. And it is not only inevitable, but also good and there is no point trying to fight this trend. Basically go for quality instead of quantity. Many European nations are small and doing exceptionally well for its people on a per capita income basis and the general quality of life. We are experiencing tremendous growth and a rapid marginalisation of our population with the quality of life going downwards for many, with many, including the upper middle income needing govt assistance. Compare to the way the European countries manage their growth and quality of life of their people, there is obviously something wrong with the general health and wealth of our nation and people.

you're powerful...very powerful

'You're powerful...very powerful Media expert Henry Jenkins say the Net's so potent that it's changing the world in many ways, but people are not prepared for this.' This is the heading of an article by Cheong Suk Wai in the Sunday Times. Jenkins, a professor from MIT, says that people are still trying to blindly figure out how to use the new power given to them by the Internet. 'The world has suddenly developed a printing press for every person on the planet,...' Henry Jenkins. The issue is how to use this power sensibly and make it useful for society and humanity. Many are still wasting their precious time and effort hurling abuses at each other in many blogs and sites. Presumably those indulging in such callous behaviour are the unthinking kids. What you say and post is important as somebody is going to read it and be influenced by it. They may agree or disagreed with you, but whichever way, it will make an impression.

relativity of greed and need

Greed and needs are indeed all subjective terms. Janadas Devan wrote an article today about the self imposed poverty of American civil servants and how Clinton feared to raise his own salary but instead raised his deputy's to double what Clinton got. This was a trick which Clinton thought would work for him, for Congress to raise his too since people below him were earning more than him. A clever 'raise your salary formula' without asking for it. Raise others' first and yours will come naturally. I got side track a little. Janadas also quoted Gandhi. Give that man a piece of cloth and he would have enough to wear for a year. His wardrobe probably had less than a dozen pieces of white cloths. But he had enough. He gave up practising medicine to become a penniless politician. But he is a poor example of what humans are. He shall be confined to history in the same chapter as Mother Teresa. The inhuman beings whose personal needs and ego are minimal and almost non existent. Back to being humans and having a stomach full of greed, envy and jealousy. No sensible man will argue that we should not pay civil servants well even if the word servant is a myth. But the trick is how well? Another very subjective word. 'Give me a piece of cloth and I will be happy.' I can hear Gandhi saying that sincerely. Let me add my subjective view of what is being paid well. For the top civil servants, to be able to afford a landed property, driving a mercedes, bring family for annual holidays, have dinner in a good restaurant every weekend, can afford to send children overseas for their education etc, and free from monetary worries of not being able to afford the above, I think these will be comfortable. Then how much to pay is still relative. At the lower end of the senior civil servants, lets say able to afford a 5 room HDB flat, a 1.6 litre Japanese car, to support a small family of 4, not necessary overseas education, and the weekend makan in a small restaurant, and the annual holidays to nearby countries. These, I think should be adequate for a start for the young civil servants. Are we paying our civil servants well enough for these niceties in life? Or shall we pay them more, double these qualitative references? Often the top honchos will only be concerned about the millions they are getting and the millions they are not getting. Not many will be concerned about the few thousands that the lower staff should be getting and not getting. That is what greed, envy and jealousy were in the stratosphere.

something to be ashamed of

If there is one thing I am ashame of of this country, it is the rampant and blatant flouting of the laws by the loansharks. And it seems that nothing can be done to them. The MSM has been trying its best to highlight this as not only a social but also criminal problems, it all seems in vain. They continue to exist and thrive and becoming more arrogant and defiance of the law and law enforcing officers.

would sheepish singaporeans be anti social?

Over the last few days there were several comments in the MSM and Cyberspace about Singaporeans getting irritated with anti social behaviours like smoking in non smoking areas or queue jumping. Many were advocating taking actions into their own hands, to tell off the offenders. These are calls for actions, to take ownership and responsibility for anti social behaviours in the public by the people. It is a move in the right direction. Singaporeans should stand up and feel that this is their country and they jointly own this place. Only when Singaporeans feel that this is their home and not a hotel that they will think it is necessary to take care fo the place. And many of the offenders are not really Singaporeans but guests, ie foreigners. Given the general comment that Singaporeans are meek, do not want to get into unpleasant situations, wanting to save face and avoid trouble, it is unlikely that they would want to adopt anti social behaviours to draw attention to themselves. The exception is the younger groups of Singaporeans, the adolescence trying to grow up. This group may be a little rowdy and less restraint. A Carmen Teoh-Tang wrote to admit sheepishly that she was told off in foreign countries for not giving her seat to the elderly. It would be good if Singaporeans too would do that to anyone, including foreigners. What could have happened was that she was a stranger in a foreign land where the foreigners few brashed enough to tell the diminutive little Asian girl off in their land. It could be a kind of xenophobic bullying taking the face of social grace. We should not bully anyone who lacked social graces, local or foreigners. But more Singaporeans should speak out to make this place of ours a more sociable and hospitable place to live in.

good news for transport stocks

Good news for transport fares. London just up its fare and becomes the most expensive in the world. Will this give us a boost? If so quickly buy MRT and SBS stocks.

blooming stock market

The stock market shot pass 3000 pts. Wow, another super bull run. Everyone must be laughing to the banks. Properties and cars must be flying off the shelves. And Today paper reported that transactions of 5 room flats were increasing and downgrading trend has stopped. Great news. The restaurants and entertainment outlets must also be doing roaring businesses. How come can't see any sign of such activities of exuberants? Oh, the 5 room flats that were transacted were from cheap and unpopular Woodland. And for the last quarter, resale market saw only a slight recovery. Nicholas Mak of Frank Knight said, 'One possible reason for the weakness in the HDB market is that the strong economic growth is not widespread enough.' This also applies to the stock market. Who is making all the money? Did anyone hear of people making money? Are the aunties all queuing up to open trading accounts? Is there a buzz in the market place of frantic stock market tradings?

double rainbows on 1.1.2007

A double rainbows appeared on the first day of the new year, 2007. It looked like a rare occurrence to me. Never seen it before. The first rainbow after the big flood was a reminder to God that he will not destroy the human race anymore. Now God is given a double reminder that he should keep to his promise. So, would the double rainbows bring better fortune for everyone? Pictures of the double rainbows can be seen at the Photo Gallery in redbeanforum.com. Just open any of the threads there and look for Snippets of Singapore file. There are about 10 pics there and 4 of them have the double rainbows captured.

The Sincerity of Insincerity

We are living in a multi religious society where all religions exist side by side and their believers live harmoniously with each other. This is like paradise in Hollywood. The key question is that beneath the facade of peaceful co existence, how real and sincere is each religious group towards another when their doctrines and beliefs called for the destruction of the other and that only theirs is the truth while the rest are forgeries or devil worshippers? How much would one trust the beaming smile and friendly handshake when his teachings and beliefs said that mine is falsehood and he is out there to change it? Or what is the thinking or intent behind that smile of friendship? How genuine and sincere can one be under such circumstances? Hypocrisy?

jeffrey law said 'nothing great'

All the articles/stories I read aren't thought-provoking and
stimulating at all.  Be more creative and innovative, or
you'll be wasting our time trying to figure out about your
site.

I received the above email from a Jeffrey Law.

So I replied thanking him for his comments and asked him about
his age, educational level and interests and which group he
belongs to so that I can tailor my writings to meet his
needs and things that he thinks will be great.

Still waiting for his reply. It would be better for Jeffrey
Law to share his view with us here and we shall do our best
to serve him and his group.

leong sze hian - settle question of hdb subsidy

Settle question of HDB subsidy once and for all A few days back Viktor Ye Kok Kheong wrote in the ST forum 'Did HDB land pricing use Raffles Place as rule?' The HDB replied that it was difficult to reveal all the details of land and construction costs of specific projects etc... and that was why HDB is incurring losses. This is probably the only monopoly business where land prices from land acquisition from owners at a price determined by the govt, but definitely not at the Raffles Place price charged to HDB, and losing money. Leong Sze Hian is not letting the matter rest and pursuing with another letter today asking for some figures for the sake of transparency and high standard of corporate governance. What will happen is that it is a matter of days when HDB would have to disclose its numbers. It is either now or later. And not for long when Singapore is singing the glory of its high standard of corporate governance and transparency.

celebrating singaporeans - Prof Donald Tan

Professor Donald Tan Eye patients from around the world with difficult blindness conditions were referred to Donald Tan for his revolutionary Lamellar transplant technique. This is a very new technique and about 200 successful transplants were carried out in 2005 and 2006. And the referrals came all the way from the US and Canada. And the beneficiaries, other than the happy and grateful patients, is the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) which has become a referral centre for cornea transplants. Some were desperate cases when all earlier treatments were unsuccessful in other eye centres. A Kitti Anansongvit were treated in Bangkok and the US before being referred to Donald Tan when his condition got worst. Phil Chapman, a Canadian boy of 13 'had the dreaded Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a potentially fatal allergy that hits children and young adults. He spent 40 days under intensive care at the Children's Hospital in Vancouver.' Inspite of 4 operations and specialists treatments in Canada and the US his desperate parents turned to Donald Tan and an operation was conducted at the SNEC. Chapman regained his sight. Donald Tan is also pioneering with another technique using a blind patient's tooth to insert into his eye to give him some vision. Since 2004, 19 cases, 2 Singaporeans and 17 foreigners have regained their sight. Singapore is blessed with such talented men. 'Prof Tan has been asked by other eye specialists to form an Asian Corneal Society to be based in Singapore, to promote clinical standards, research and education in cornea transplants and eye-banking.'