The solutions oozing out for the aged

The solutions oozing out for the aged Boon Heng has come up with his first gem after his 6 days tour of Japan. Don't withdraw too early to extend the fun or fund. 3 more years before the minimum sum can be withdrawn. And this comes with many benefits. Senior workers will now have the opportunity to work till 65 or 70, and protected by legislation. Their savings will grow, and earn another 3 more years of interest. And they will not squander away their money too early. In a nutshell, their future is safe and sound. I am wondering, why, if they could work so many years more, which means they will have more income than outcome, at least until 65 or 70, depending on when they stop working, these years should be net surpluses. Why should the minimum then be increased further when their non economic lifespan is now shorter? Should the need for the minimum sum be lessen instead of increasing? Or they need to live on gold during their golden years? I know that they burn gold papers.

yes, we are progressing

An article posted by an overseas Singaporean in Sammyboy Five years ago, if someone were to suggest to me that Singaporeans should always come first, whether with regard to housing, healthcare or education, I would have agreed readily. But as you can tell from my recent posts, I have become more skeptical about these "Put Singaporeans First" instincts. Back in the 1980s, faced with competitive pressures from Japan, there was also a 'Buy America' campaign. Today, 'Buy America' is probably targeted at cheap Chinese imports. But to those of us who are beginning to understand how inter-connected the world is, such efforts are looking increasingly futile, and are in fact detrimental to the people they are supposed to benefit. It became somewhat of a joke when it latter transpired that many made in America products in fact had foreign components. Looking beyond goods and services, globalisation has also resulted in greater movement of people from their countries of birth. Immigration and emigration are on the rise everywhere. I mentioned before that 1 in 10 British nationals actually live overseas even as Britain experiences large scale immigration. Singapore, being a global city-state, is not immune to these forces. I dare say that on the whole, we have benefitted greatly from it. We have many non-citizens (permanent residents, permit holders) working here for large parts of their lives. Many are becoming as Singaporean as you or I. Similarly, there are many Singaporeans working, studying, living overseas for an extended period of time. I am a Singaporean, but I do receive some British welfare benefits because I am studying here. With the influx of non-locally born students or working professionals to Singapore, competitive pressure inevitably arises - as is reflected in rising rents, house prices, transport congestion or university places. Faced with competitive pressure, the natural instinct is to adopt a 'Put Singaporeans First' mentality. There are also those in Britain demanding that welfare for foreigners be cut, and that British citizens should come first. Why should we worry about putting citizens before every one else? Firstly, it has become increasingly difficult to meaningfully categorise people into citizens and non-citizens based on the passports they hold, and conduct redistribution policies that way. For example, many permanent residents have lived in and contributed to Singapore for decades. Many have Singaporean spouses and Singaporean children. Secondly, even if we give the Singaporean priority to everything, healthcare, university education and what not, he or she could easily emigrate to another country after consuming all the benefits (ah big beautiful house and nice lifestyle in Australia). Being open and free means that citizens can easily pack up and leave. The fact that one has to be a Singaporean citizen at the point of consuming taxpayer-funded benefits does not guarantee that it will be taxpayers' money well-spent. Who is a taxpayer? Foreigners who work here pay taxes too, GST if not income taxes. Though it has become a cliche to say that the world has become more open and borders more porous, we still have not really accepted this at the emotional level. Many of you will no doubt disagree with me on this and believe that we citizens should always come first. But I hope to convince you at least that old comfortable assumptions we have will not always hold today. I fully agree with what he said. He is not only a Singaporean with talent, but also have breathed in fresh foreign air. So he can be a bit airy but the talent he showed in his arguments is a gem. We should do away with citizenship and embrace globalisation. This will be a first that we can claim and welcome everyone here as equals to all Singaporeans without distinction. We are progressing, very well towards the day when we can discard the name Singapore and call ourselves international citizens.

Concern over greying

Siew Kum Hong was concerned about the future of the greying population. He forgot that Lim Boon Heng is now looking at the problem full time. There should not be any problem when Boon Heng comes up with his solutions. Kum Hong's concern is that the greying population, especially the rich and able, will find a better and cheaper place to live. They are disenchanted with the life for the aged here. What could they do when the cost of being old is so expensive? And Boon Wan has also worked very hard, together with the CPF, to make sure that the old have money to keep themselves alive, and to feed the hospitals. The best solution actually is for them to take out all their CPF savings and move to a cheaper country to live. How can they afford such an expensive Singapore when they could live in easy comfort say in Sri Lanka or Malaysia? There are many options available out there. There is no need to think so hard of what to do with them. The solution is very simple actually. No need to exercise the brain juice of expensive brains.

World best civil service

The Accenture reports put the Singapore Civil Service as the best in the world. No surprises here. How else could the country run so well and for so long. The civil service is the backbone of the country's development, but often their role was underplayed. There were gripes about some inefficiencies here and there. What's so surprising and difficult to understand about this? Only God will think that he is perfect and cannot tolerate a little complaints. All earthlings are imperfect and will have slips or imperfections here and there that will draw flakes now and then. No matter how good is a system, there must be flaws, big or small. This is the realities of life. Despite all the imperfections, we indeed have a really good civil service.

Selling of core national assets

I greeted the news of the selling of our power stations with jittery. The big motherhood statements like liberation, another version of privatisation, are used to justify the move. It will definitely not affect the consumers. What an assurance. Can any vouch that this will not happen? In the past, all the privatisations were sold as the panacea for efficiency and cost reduction. What happened? Only the reverse. But the selling of the country's core assets is a different kettle of fish. Many disturbing questions come to my mind. Do we need the money? What are we going to do with the money? Buy sick foreign companies at a premium since no one is going to sell good and healthy companies except us? Or is the technology of the power station going to be obsolete that it is better to sell them now? The questions of national security is well answered and taken care of. And the consumer's and nation's interests are guaranteed to be protected. All thought through. The sale will only have benefits. Benefits to who? When all the concerns are addressed and confidently predicted that they will not become a problem, what can that we cannot sell? And it was also reported that the changes will not alter prices. For how long? We will see and monitor this again in a year or two down the road.

JB, a sad state of affair

Abdul Ghani met the demonstrators who were unhappy with the high crime rate in JB. As usual, he warned the demonstrators that it could lead to unexpected consequences. Now what did he meant by that when what the demonstrators were asking was for tighter law enforcement against crimes? Are the demonstrators going to be hurt instead of the criminals? It seems that there are two kinds of citizens. One protected by the law even if they turned to crime. The other of no consequence to the law even when they are victims of crime committed by the former.

What is Singapore Post up to?

I thought no organisation is to price in the 2% GST increase to the consumers? In his reply to Leong Sze Hian, Tay Poh Choo, a VP from SingPost said, 'As a GST registered company, Singpost collects GST on behalf of the Govt. In this exercise, we would like to assure the public that there will be no increase in revenue for Singpost.' And the 1c increase in postage is exactly 2%. Ok, accepted. And Singpost will absorb the 2% increase for all other local weight steps. 'We will return 1% of the franked postage to franked mail customers from 1 July.' Puzzled, 2%, 1%? Why take all the trouble?

myth 145

Finally David Gerald called it a myth The independence of independent director is a myth. I have said that before and now David Gerald is putting it on record in the media. The mechanism in the appointment of independent directors in contrary to the objective of having independent directors. David has agreed with my suggestions that an independent body must be appointed to provide directors unrelated to the organisation and its management. Only then can independent directors function independently and speak with a strong and impartial voice to self guard the interest of minority shareholders. I have suggested that MAS or SGX appoint SIAS as such a body. David has included included SID and two accounting bodies. I personally do not favour SID or any other bodies. I still prefer SIAS whose members are minority shareholders and have a genuine interest to safeguard their own interests. You need the owners, especially minority owners, to look after their own interest. Never trust anyone else.

We are progressing

We have over taken New York as the 14th most expensive city to live in. The rate of this climb is short of meteoric. From 46th in 2004, we leapfrogged to 34th and then 17th and today 14th. Our next target is Hongkong, currently 5th. We only lost out in rentals. Our public transport cost is already almost double that of Hongkong and our hamburger meal is $1.50 more. Maybe we have already over taken Hongkong as the report was probably based on last year's data. The phenomenon rise in our property prices and rentals is beating all records. If we have not beaten Hongkong yet, we are very close. By the time we are 6.5 million, the top slot will definitely be reserved for us. Then we can tell the world we are number one again.

Its the fault of the Internet

No it is the fault of the education system. No it is the fault of society. No it is BSE. It is so easy to blame someone else except to see the truth. The Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader incident is an exciting peep into the minds of radicals. Many conveniently point to the internet as the source of the evil. And in Today, Dharmendra Yadav quoted his foreign friend saying that it is our education system. A system that taught the people to think and acquire new knowledge but not to ask questions. What a contradiction. Now why would a professionally trained person like Abdul Basheer rejected all the goodies that he could have, the million dollar salary akan datang, to fight in the mountains of Afghanistan, to die for a cause? Perplexing questions are best answered by simple answers. It is the fault of the internet.

We believe

Segmentation of the Singapore society We are truly unique in many ways. We can even segment the property market and believed that the price spiral in the top end market will not affect the property prices of the HDB market. We also believe that the enbloc sales will be isolated and HDB prices will not rise. We believe. We just simply believe. We also believe that the GST increases can be managed and control with our unique and efficient law enforcement system that small businesses will not pass the cost to the consumers. We believe that all the businesses will simply just charge 2% of the GST and all cost remains unchanged. We also believe that the emperor is wearing his birthday suit, fully clothed.

Esplanade car parking fee up

Yes, it is from $4 to $5.50 for 4 hours of night parking. A 37.5% increase. Definitely the increase is not due to the 2% GST in July. Or else the Esplanade will be skinned alive for profiteering or taking advantage of the GST increase. For this, the most they can increase is 2%. The justification is because of higher rate of utilisation. There are more demand for the car parks there. Public transport operators should be happy to use this justification in the next round of price hike. The more people want to use a facility, it is a good reason to raise price. And in the case of the Esplanade, they should raise it more. For the comment from the car owners is an innocuous, just a bit steep. Nothing to worry about. And it is also good to know that Chijmes is charging $8, much higher. So as long as a good example is used to compare and justify the higher fee, it is ok. The fees for CTE and other expressways must go up when more motorists are using them. Another good reason is that the people parking in the Esplanade can afford it. So why not. It is affordable.

Another posh doggie restaurant

The dog food were very attractively prepared. Much much better than what one gets to eat in our food court. The dogs are living it up with their owners. Sometimes it is better to be a dog than a human bean. It is good that human beans take great care for the animals they loved. Shower them with gifts, accessories, trinkets, jewelry etc. I can only say nice. Somehow, after reading the article in the Sunday Times, I feel very uncomfortable. I got this feeling that it is very insensitive and a little sick. That's just my feeling.

It is getting nearer

Thailand is on fire. And the methodology is the same as those adopted in Iraq. Little explosive devices left innocently to be detonated to harm the people. In southern Thailand, the use of these devices is now in full blown. And the Thais are having a taste of it with many soldiers wounded or killed. And it is only the beginning. Coming further south, KL just had one yesterday at a bus station. Why on earth KL? And why the KL govt is pointing the fingers at the Thai militants in southern Thailand? God knows. What had happened in KL is too near for comfort. We cannot have such a thing to happen here. It will disrupt the lives of everyone. It is so scary and unnerving to imagine what it would be like. We have to be on our guards 24/7.

nkf story - pointing fingers

Why pointing the finger at the OA? Or at least it seems to be the case. Or at least the OA has felt it necessary to come out with figures to show that running away by bankrupts is a common occurrence. The figure did showed that the number of bankrupts escaping is on the rise. Many of them are of no significance or of no public interests. And the OA also admitted that most of the cases that were caught were due to tip offs by the public and whistle blowers. In the Richard Yong's case, there were no tip offs. The people who were helping him to quickly disposed off his properties or buying his properties did not see anything wrong with the transactions and also should not be blamed. It is just a natural cause of events. People should just live with it and should not read too much into its other implications. This is my view as I wanted to be generous on a Sunday morning. And definitely it is unfair to blame the OA.

Price increases - No sweat

Prices A relentless spiral Creeping pre-GST price hikes lighten the pockets of Singaporeans. By Seah Chiang Nee. Jun 16, 2007 MIDDLE class Singaporeans are being weighed down by rising costs of daily necessities that seem to show no sign of abatement. Hardly a week passes without a report or two of some service or bread-and-butter item becoming more expensive and biting into people’s fixed incomes. The surge started with condos (one that cost S$1mil or RM2.2 a year ago is now S$1.3mil or RM2.9) and cars, moving to the MRT, buses, taxis, hospitals, polyclinics, mail and utilities. The latest one hit some 750,000 households who subscribe to cable TV. They will soon have to pay S$4 more for the Basic Package – and a whooping S$15 (up from S$5) for the sports channels that televise English football. This has got soccer fans hopping mad with some threatening to cancel subscription, an unlikely solution since cable television is a monopoly run by a single operator. It is also the most important source of entertainment for the Singapore family, which is embittered at the arbitrary hike and the absence of a market alternative. In recent weeks, inflation worsened as merchants jumped into the bandwagon, hiking prices in restaurants, supermarkets, food courts, coffee shops and retail outlets. This affects the budget of every Singaporean but the hardest hit are the middle class and lower-income workers. To put it in perspective, not all shops everywhere are doing it and those that do are not raising prices for every single item in their premises. It is a sporadic, selective practice that depends on the person and the location. Some are reluctant to charge more for fear of losing customers. A stall near my home has just hiked his nasi lemak and mee rebus from S$2 to S$2.20. Across the road, a glass of sugar cane water is up 20 cents to S$1.20. In some places – but not all – chicken rice, the closest to a national dish here, now costs 50 cents more at S$3.50. Condensed milk, bubble tea and Campbell soup have become dearer. For consumers, the worst is to come. On July 1, Singaporeans will have to pay a higher Goods and Services Tax (GST) when it is increased from 5 to 7%. “The price increases look unstoppable and the government is either unable or unwilling to take action to deal with it,” said a retired teacher. In the government’s view, inflation here is largely imported or due to globalisation and represents only an insignificant rise in the Consumer Price Index. The only watchdog, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), has been a relative bystander especially when the perpetrator is the government or a Temasek-linked company. Inflation is not only a Singaporean phenomenon. It is also threatening stronger economies like the US and China, which are considering higher interest rates to dampen it. With an expected growth of 6% this year, Singapore is not spared. But the government’s strong business role and preoccupation with the bottom line are part of the dilemma. There are other official causes. Firstly, the authorities themselves had started the ball rolling when they raised charges for public services like education, hospitals and utilities. Secondly, the government is Singapore’s biggest landowner, owning some 70% of it and thus has a powerful say on prices. Rents in Temasek-controlled commercial and shopping properties have risen significantly. The impact on the retail trade is inevitable. In addition some of these linked companies operate a total or near-monopoly services that limit market competition. “Monopolistic price increases have happened all too often,” a commentator of current affairs observed. “It is time the ministers form a committee to look into government monopoly or cartel collusion to fix prices to ensure there is no infringement of the Fair Trading Act”. What is more worrying is structural inflation. As it speeds towards becoming into a global city with a large number of rich and talented foreigners, Singapore would likely take on a new high-cost structure. Becoming another city like New York, Tokyo or Paris, stirs excitement, but the cost of living is bound to take after them as well. The present predicament may be a sign of things to come. Singapore’s economy is gradually favouring the businessman over the ordinary worker. Some economists think the price surge will eventually settle back when the economy slows. “But many of the basic food prices, once raised, will not become cheaper ever again,” exclaimed a housewife. “We’re stuck with them.” There is rumbling in the heartland where 85% of Singaporeans live. The price hikes of basic goods and services are hurting many citizens with average or low incomes. The government is watching with some concern, although it has so far taken little public steps to combat the snowballing increases. When the GST increase comes into effect next month, the Singaporean pocket will be hit even harder. He will have to pay a 7% tax of almost every product or service, unless an exemption is stipulated. The authorities are dishing out S$100-S$400 a year to each adult over next four years to mitigate its impact. The poorer people get the higher sum. Apart from possible political fallout, the government will likely want to prevent higher costs from derailing its strategy of attracting foreign investment and talent. Already American businessmen have complained that spiralling rents are creating problems for them, forcing a number to relocate elsewhere. Cases of condo rents at choice areas rising up to by 50-70% once a lease expires have been growing, a trend that could benefit Singapore’s neighbours. (This article was published in The Star, Malaysia, on June 16, 2007) Price increases are expected when the GST goes up by 2%. And the Singaporeans should have no problem facing the increases. Thanks to the govt who have the foresight to anticipate the increases and has given several hundred dollars to every Singaporeans in advance. That's thoughtful. For me, it will be more money in the kitty as I will not be spending more than before. I will cut down on my food intake, 1 pack of 3 in 1 Super Coffee instead of 2, go to the barber once in two months instead of every month, use less water, lesser colgate, lesser hair cream. And drop one station earlier from the MRT and walk. It has the additional benefit of exercising my leg muscles. And all these with govt handouts safely in the kitty. Isn't that nice?

Cries for better TV programmes

Did I hear cries for better quality programmes on local TV? Why should that be when great qualities were promised when SBC was privatised? How could that be when greater programmes were promised when the two stations were merged? These people must be joking. I mean the viewers. Haven't they heard of the fascinating and popular super talents and superstars, even kiddy idols that were drawing the crowds of mummies and kindergarten children glued to the programmes? And we have all the TV awards programmes of the past being rerun for the viewers to enjoy their second or third viewing of the Price of Peace, or what, sorry can't remember any of them. And for those who want better quality programmes, they can go to MobTV, with the likes of I yoyo or programmes starring Zoe Tay and Li Nanxing, our equivalent of international movie stars. Those who can afford can pay a little more for cable tv too. I think Singaporeans are spoilt for choice for quality programmes. And Ling Pek Ling of MDA has said that with such a wide variety of good programmes and competition, there is no need for satellite TVs. After flipping through some of the Taiwanese comedies from some Jacky something and our famous, who's that Jack Neo's side kick, and Gurmit Singh, and the gang, Singaporeans are all laughing in stitches everyday. It is a laughing paradise. Only problem with me is that my perception of beauty and good look has changed quite dramatically. A little confession. The only programmes I watch are the news programmes. The rest, can be quite provocative to the mind. Never want to have nightmares.

What is the Singapore Brand?

Many people crow about the Singapore Brand. I am also proud of this brand. To me it means trustworthiness, reliability and peace of mind. Foreigners have this respect when they come to Singapore to do business or to do whatever. They know that this is a safe place, things are proper and orderly and predictable. The last thing they want to know is being cheated. That things don't work as expected. Now, with some of the negative publicity we are getting, we are hearing Singaporeans happily throwing around the word 'caveat emptor.' Now what does that mean? It means that one has to be careful when in Singapore or when dealing with Singaporeans. And if you are cheated, it is your own problem because you never open your eyes. Has Singapore or the Singapore Brand degenerate to this level when the trustworthiness and reliability are now not a given? And Singaporeans are happily going about it as if it is just the natural course of things to be in Singapore. Actually I should have posted this under the topic, Signs of Decline.

blair unhappy with media

Blair is unhappy with the Media and his criticism is summarised in the 5 areas below. 1. Scandal or controversy beats ordinary reporting hands down. 2. Attacking motive is far more potent than attacking judgment. 3. The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack. 4. The new technique is commentary on the news being as, if not more important, than the news itself. 5. This, in turn, leads tothe confusion of news and commentary. And the Media's reply: 1. Responsibility for spin, cronyism, sofa government and the fatal misjudgment over Iraq lies with Mr Blair and his government. 2. We hope nothing will ever come of any attempts to place the press under any kind of statutory regulation. The British press is all the things Mr Blair says it is. But it must remain free to be both awful and, on its day, magnificent. Fortunately our media are free from Blair's accusation. Our media does not do anything that Blair accused the British media of.

Declare income to receive workfare bonus

'Singaporeans eligible for the Workfare Bonus Scheme(WBS) must declare their income by June 30 in order to receive their second and final portion of the bonus, said the Ministrhy of Manpower yesterday.' Anyone declaring?