babies are national assets

Medishield to reach newborns This is another very good scheme. Babies are national assets, boys or girls. The country must give them the best medical care to raise them into productive adults. This is like organisations calling their human resource as the most important asset of the company but...treating them like shit. The country has been encouraging the people to produce more children in a declining birthrate. And without the children coming, the country will perish unless replace by foreigners. If the country treasures these babies, shouldn't their health at these early stages of their precious lives be the concerned of the country and the little cost of insurance be paid out by the state? If we can pour in so much money on beautifying the parks and canals, don't these babies deserve better?

Celebrating Singaporean - John Chen

John Chen the Singer I take my hat off to John Chen for doing something he loves. He was an academic turned politician and now turns singer. Go for it John, do the things that make you happy and enjoy life. Don't be a slave to money. How many people can take such a dramatic turn in life? Ok, he has made his dole. And that is exactly what making money is for, to earn enough to buy oneself the freedom to be what one wishes to be. I can see John Chen a happier person, more joyful and younger even. He is now sporting a new celebrity look, so different from his past expressionless, dull academic and politician image. Let's see more Singaporeans follow his happy path.

china less attractive with higher corporate tax

China is raising its corporate tax on foreign companies from 15% to 25% while lowering the local companies' tax from 33% to 25%. This would make Chinese corporate tax very much higher than our 18/20%. Would this make us now more competitive than China? No doubt China has other comparative advantages like a huge market and a huge labour pool and can afford to raise its taxes. MNCs will have to make their assessments as to where will give them the best value. And Bintan/Batam with their own sets of problems that make operating there unprofitable, Singapore will now be slightly more attractive as a preferred destination. Oops forgot to mention India as another choice market. But we still have to lower everything to make ourselves competitive, except wages. But we have comparative advantage in having a big pool of local and foreign talents that can command higher wages. So not a problem there. Oh, workers level, that is another story.

an act of war?

An act of war? Banning sales of sand is a commercial decision, an unfriendly one at worst. Banning granite sales is similar in nature. All these are within the rights of a sovereign nation. Indonesia can choose to sell or not to sell to us. We can negotiate for a fair price, even make them an offer that they cannot refuse. But when all else fails, we find alternative sources for our supply. Then it was reported that 12 barges and 12 tugboats were arrested for carrying granite from Indonesia. And with the Indonesian Foreign Minister and Trade Minister confirming that there was no ban on granite, the cargoes were legitimate and with legal papers. They cannot be breaking any Indonesian laws. And they were carrying our flags. This wrongful seizure of our shipping vessels is a very provocative act, an act of hostility. Many countries have gone to war for such a hostile act. And this is repeated 24 times, with 24 of our boats arrested while conducting legitimate activities. Singapore cannot take this quietly. We must demand their immediate release with compensation. We must demand an apology. We must demand that the commanders involved in such hostile acts between two friendly neighbours be sacked. These are the least Singapore should do to remain a respectable sovereign nation or be forever compliant. Forget about all the acts of kindness and offering of help. These are never appreciated and regarded in most instances as acts of pretension. They are seen as an appeasement by a small nation trying to curry favours from a big nation. Singapore should reassess how it conducts its relations with its neighbours. It should be on an equal basis, cordial, friendly and mutual respect. No necessity to run like a eager beaver to offer help when help was never seen in that light.

40 looking at 80

When you are 45 or 50 and staring down the future and knowing that you have possibly another 30 or 35 years to go, and you are jobless and unwanted. My god, is this the fate of older Singaporeans? And what can one look forward to if the likely jobs available are menial or manual works like cleaners and sweepers. And what if the whole country's infrastructure is being upgraded to world class with world class facilities, luxuries and world class price tag? The Age Committee would have to come out with a miracle, like a wonder drug that can make old people younger and marketable.

what a powerful committee!

Age Committee The most powerful committee yet formed today is the Age Committee to tackle unemployment among the senior citizens. 4 ministers, 5 ministers of state and a parliamentary secretary. Singapore and the senior citizens' problems are in good hands.

housewives debate

The housewives or homemakers issue is going to be another hot debate. Read several letters in Today paper in response to a writer, Siao Kian Kiong, who said that homemaker is a self centred decision. Working or doing part time work is also a self centred decision. The interest is in the self and also benefits the family. And just as working is an economic activity, so is being a housemaker, which is everything a maid is doing and many things more. The value of a housewife or housemaker is not something to be trifled with. Looks like many people, after being looked after by their mother, have already forgotten the sacrifices of their mothers.

branding in singapore

Branding Singaporeans We have heard the familiar quitters and stayers descriptions of Singaporeans. Then the local talent and foreign talent, the pro govt and anti govt, the whiners, the complainers, the insurgents, the dissidents, the anti establishment, the disloyal citizens etc etc In cyberspace, there is one group, the pro govt, versus the rest, ie the anti govt, the whiners, the complainers, the insurgents, the dissidents, the anti establishment, and the disloyal citizens or whatever negative words that can be used to describe them. Why can't bloggers and forumers be concerned citizens, interested citizens, politically aware citizens, political/social observers, people who just want to have a say about our national affairs, people with an alternative view, a different perspective etc? When the govt talks about the light touch, it reflects the kind of mentality behind the statement. It is control and punishment, light or heavy as it deems fit. It is the stick that rules. Compare this with the BBC's tie up with YouTube and you can straight away see the stark difference in the approach. I quote: "As the BBC has acknowledged, I think it;'s better to embrace it and jump in," said analyst Chris Lake. "That way, you can monitor the quality and the content." Mr Ashley Highfield, the BBC's director of future media and technology, said the BBC would not hunt down all BBC-copyrighted clips already uploaded by YouTube members, but would reserve the right to swop poor quality clips with the real thing, or to have content removed that had been edited or altered in a way that would damage the BBC's brand. "We don't want to be overzealous, a lot of the material on YouTube is good promotional content for us," he said. This right to alter is similar to the govt's stand on the right of reply. The govt is free to reply in cyberspace on any misinformation put forward to clear the air. There is no need to always think of using the stick. It will also generate more healthy debates on issues and better understanding. Did I hear a renaissance? What renaissance if the mentality is to curb and control, and to use the stick? Or anyone with a different view will be branded as anti govt, anti establishment, dissidents or insurgents?

watch out swee say

Lim Swee Say on sensitive ground The TV camera showed Swee Say expounding the virtues of housewives as the pillar of our society, praising housewives as a noble thing and cannot be compared with low wage workers. But the long and short of it all was that housewives will not get anything extra from the 2007 budget. If they want workfare bonus they must go out and get a job. And there are organisations out there helping and training them to get back to the job market. Housewives are as noble as the virtues of honesty, loyalty, pillars of society, mother etc, and just that. Good to see but cannot eat. Then the camera switched to a few faces, presumably housewives. And their expressions said it all. And if that was what they were thinking, Swee Say better stay clear of the path of housewives for the time being. Housewives love what they are doing. Housewives enjoy the pleasure of looking after their children and watch them grow. That is the most important reward for them. I agree. But when money is being thrown around, public money, the pillar of society also wants to be recognized and wants some too. Words are just plain words. The Ah Huays and Ah Lians may leave him alone. Not sure about the Ah Sohs and the aunties.

pay rise for civil servants

Ministerial, civil service salaries expected to go up Chee Hean made this belated announcement yesterday. It is high time that a salary revision takes place before they lose more talented people to the private sector. I bet with the kind of starting salaries for new job entrants they are definitely having difficulties recruiting or at best getting the leftovers. The resignation at entry grade is a startling 25% while the overall number has risen from 4.8% to 5.7%. But no figures were given on the resignation rate at the senior civil servant level. Can't recollect any resignation at these levels except for retirement. Chee Hean also said that the increment will not be across the board but be determined by performance and those jobs that have been lagging behind the private sector. A good measurement of this is the resignation rate. It will be interesting to know the number of senior civil servants who have resigned to join the private sector voluntarily.

middle income earnings

Lag in middle income growth These are the statistics on income per household member per month published in the ST today. 31st to 40th percentile $960 41st to 50th percentile $1180 81st to 90th percentile $3190 91st to 100th percentile $6990 A family of 4 with a $6990 per household income will be getting a household income of $27,960 per month. Not bad at all. What about those with $1 million annual household income or more? The 100th percentile gives the impression that the richest Singaporean earns a household income of $27,960 per month. Off hand I can think of at least a handful of people earning $2 million and above per annum. This will give a per household member income of $500,000 each per annum or more than $40,000 per household member per month. Official numbers in the ST has reported that there are several thousand millionaires in our midst. Looks like all the millionaires are not included in the numbers. Or the numbers are strictly just on middle income earners.

6.5 million in 2030?

The foreign talent and 6.5 million population issue were raised in Parliament. The reply, as often repeated over the MSM was regurgitated. We need the huge population to ensure vibrancy and our viability. We need all the talents that we can get. We need to compete with the giants like China the US and Australia for the rare talents. And our birth rate is slowing down and we will not be reproducing ourselves. Giving this kind of explanations, looks like all the small little rich countries in Europe are destined to perish. And they better follow our example and start a frantic drive to recruit talents for their long term existence. Or is it that they have been doing it and we are following their brilliant examples? The population will decline if we add 8,000 new citizens annually in 2030. So in 23 years time, we will face a decline if we add in only 8,000 new citizens. It was also reported that we attracted 13,200 new citizens and 57,300 prs last year alone. Adding another 35,000 new births, we actually add on 105,000 in a year! Knock off 30,000 death rate, it gives a nett gain of 75,000. At this rate, in 20 years we will add 1.5 million to our population or we will hit above 6 million in 2030! It will be even more if the momentum is kept up at this pace. Is the 6.5 million figure just a planning figure for the next 40 or 50 years? It will be realised by 2030 at this rate of growth. There should be a debate among the planners and intellectuals on the pros and cons on this big leap forward. So far the people are hearing only one side of the story. Without the population growth and foreign talents we will perish. And there were all kinds of assurances that nothing will go wrong and everything will be alright and we will have prosperity for everyone. It is important that the people hear the other side of story before we suffocate ourselves to death. I don't trust sales pitch.

myth 120

No need for caps Napoleon and his friends were having a great time in the animal farm after seizing it from the farmer. They were having a great time feasting and frolicking from the new wealth they they had inherited. Life was good, really good. From the outside, the sheep, the cows and horses and all the chicken and fowls watched in amazement. 'Wow that's what the good life meant.' They were probably wondering why couldn't they too partake in the frolicking and share the good time. One sheep ventured to ask. 'Why no caps?' 'No caps for us, caps only for sheep.' Came the reply. And the sheep nodded and walked away sheepishly.

best 2006 quote

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy,the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named Bush, Dick, and Colon. - Comedian Chris Rock

more attractive estate duty laws needed

With the economy doing so well, with so many millionaires being made, with so many wealthy foreigners being lured to our shores, hopefully to become citizens, our estate duty laws are out of date. Currently the $9 million for one property and $600,000 cash that are exempted from estate duties are too low. A more reasonable and realistic number should be $20 million worth of properties, not limited to only one property, and $10 million worth of cash, would make citizenship or dying here more attractive.

quality does not come cheap

Letter from Lee kiao Hoong in Today paper '....My wife gave birth to twins at the SGH recently. They were born premature - at six months gestation - and thus admitted to the NICU. After a two and a half month stay in a B2 ward, the hospital bill for my elder daughter came up to a whopping $29,000, after government subsidies. As a result, the Medisave accounts that both my wife and I had built up over 10 years were wiped out overnight.... I also hope this serves as a reminder to couples who are planning to have a baby. The simple act of having your very own child could possibly turn out to be one huge financial nightmare.' World class facilities matched with world class bills. That must be expected. Nothing is for free. There is a price to everything.

happy opt in

MP Seah Kian Peng suggested that those who earned $100k or more should be opt in to donate the $100 they are receiving from the GST rebate the govt is giving out. I supported this definitely. I agree with Seah Kian Peng that they are so happily rich that $100 really mean nothing to them but a lot to those who need them. And I am very sure that those being opted in will be more than happy to do so. This is a happy opt in, though it violated their right from having the choice to opt in/out. What the heck? Can we just opt people into anything just because it is insignificant to them or useful to others?

without spirit we are nothing

'Without spirit, what is sport? You can have really nice buildings but without spirit, what use is the hardware?' Ang Peng Siong I like to borrow this statement by Ang Peng Siong and substitute sport with Singapore. Without spirit or passion, what is Singapore? We can have all the world best infrastructure and talents, but without spirit, we are nothing. Yes just a hotel.

between hell and paradise

Between Hell and Paradise Paradise is where everyone desires to be. It has the best of everything, world best! But paradise is only for the select few, the chosen few. Not many people can afford paradise. Many people will be in 'hell' in a way, the living hell. It is admirable for the govt of the day to want to build a paradise on earth, world best in everything. But can we afford it? How many can afford it? It is like the debate between Wei Ling and Philip. Philip operates on a huge budget and casts his net very wide. Wei Ling is talking about making choices with our limited resources. We need to be selective and spend cautiously. We want world best facilities in everything. Yes we must have them. But no, we cannot have all of them. Segmentation and allocation of our resources must take into account the reality. The 'we' is a very loose group of people stretching from the penniless to the super rich, including foreigners that we want them to be here to pay for world class facilities. National resources must be allocated to build or develop facilities according to the needs of the different segments of our society defined by financial affordability. We have to cater to the needs of all levels and our resources must be allocated proportionally. Ask anyone if they want world best facilities and I bet the answer is yes. But ask them to pay for it and the answer will be no. The govt will continuously be running on an ever expanding budget if it keeps on telling the people that it is striving to provide them with everything that is world best. And the govt will be perpetually coming back to demand more money from the people for their world best ideas. Why not just try to make 'hell' more liveable instead of building a paradise

nkf story - chapter 3

Chapter Three The criminal trial has started. And Durai is facing two charges which he pleaded not guilty. The charges are 'using false documents with the intention of deceiving the NKF into paying out $25,000-$20,000....' Are these all the charges that he is going to face?