A story Of love and poverty

An aged husband pushing his wheel-chaired wife 3km to meet an MP. By aidil. Aug 25, 2007 A Meet-the-people's session (MPS) on Aug 1 was perhaps the saddest one I have attended thus far. Sure, I have come across people who are stateless and seeking citizenship, HIV-positive persons, persons in really bad financial state and so on, but the special case that came before me today broke my heart. This is a story of an elderly Malay couple alone in this world. My heart raced as I had to interview the elderly Malay couple who looked like beggars, scruffy and tired. The wife, 69 years old, was plump and wheelchair-bound. The husband, 75 years old, was pudgy, walked with a limp due to arthritis and wore loosely fitted shoes. They live in a fully paid 3-room flat, which they bought many years ago. They only had one child. "Had" being the operative word. She/he died 2 years ago. They live about 3km away from the MPS that I am stationed. The husband, with his bad knees, undertook, as a gesture of love, to always push his wife around in her wheelchair. They don't take public transport because they cannot afford to and even if they did, they don't know how. Not knowing the whereabouts of an MPS, they set off at 6pm today in search for the first one they could find. They walked from location to location, asking people where an MPS is located. They finally ended up at my table - 3km from their house - at 8+pm. Not having any money to take a taxi or a bus, the husband pushed the sick wife all the way with his bad knees. The husband, being ill and old, is unable to find work. The wife, makes the best of her wheelchair bound state to sell packets of tissue paper. She brings in S$10 max a day. With S$10/day, they have to pay for meals, basic necessities and electrical/water bills. But this has over time become unbearable. They needed help and thus they walked 3km to my interview table. My heart broke when they retold their story of hardship. Copied from www.littlespeck.com. I am glad that the story is told. And I am glad that those who read are responding positively and rushing to do what they can for the couple. Go to littlespeck.com for more details.

The new deja vu

We need to restructure to meet the new challenges. Companies must be lean and fit. All the oldies, above 50, must be retrenched. Retrenchment is good. And we cannot have too many self employed, especially middle men, those that called themselves agents or people who are unproductive but add to the cost of doing business. And yes, we need to harness the power of technology, especially online and internet technology. These will save many unnecessary manpower. Anything that can go online, or any business that can go online must go online. Get rid of the extra fat to pay the unproductive parasites. Organisations will be more profitable with lesser jobs and heads to pay. Fire if possible. And the savings on manpower cost can add to more profits and bigger bonuses. These were the mantras 10 years ago. What are the new mantras today? Create jobs, more jobs, any fxxking jobs will do. Just create jobs for the people. And yes, jobs for the old hags, even the 70s and 80s. And pay them well. What retrenchment? What cut cost? Who dares to breathe these obscene words? Shall we hang those CEOs who are still trying to get rid of jobs and old hags?

The rich but poor Singaporeans

What is the financial profile of an average heartlander living in a 4 or 5 rm flat? When these people reach their 60s or 70s, it is very likely that they will still have a flat that has 70 years of lease left and may worth $500k or more, and likely to be fully paid up. In addition, each may have a piece of life insurance worth $100k. And in the CPF they will have $30k worth of Medisave and $120k in their minimum sum. Maybe the present generation may not have the full amount but at least half. And if both were working, this amount is doubled. Then there could be the little savings as an extra bonus. All these without taking into considerations the new measures that are going to be implemented. What about the few good and rich children that can afford to hand them some pocket money? What is the net worth of a couple of average heartlanders then? Easily $600k or more. In anywhere, in any circumstances, these people are rich beyond anyone's imaginations. And they only have themselves to take care of. No more burden of raising the young. But not in Singapore. Here is the bad news. For in the future, with all the cost of livings going up, these people need help or they will have nothing for their old age. They will become a burden to themselves and the govt. And that is why the govt is very concerned. And that is why more of their little savings must be kept till they are well into the 80s and 90s. Should the average Singaporeans celebrate their wealth or it is only a mirage? Excluding the top 20% of the population, this group of average Singaporeans could easily form 50% of the population. Actually, really, no bluff, why should this 70% of the population be seen as potential destitute and need to live on charity? Beats me really.

When all the gantries are in place

When the highways are too costly, motorists will switch to smaller roads that may take a little longer. And when these smaller roads are also gantryrised, then they either go back to the highway to meet the toll collectors, or they just have to take public transport. Our dream of a world class Tokyo public transport system when every commuters would have to be squeezed into the train by a mob of paid pushers will soon be a reality. And when that happens, the transport companies will know just what they have to do. Someone may suggest that to cut the number of people taking public transport they will have to raise the fare. Or maybe a smarter suggestion will be to have two trains out of six to be reserved for higher fare paying passengers. Call it first class train. The fares will be double or triple. That will be a profitable business and the shareholders will be pleased.

Lim Keng Yaik has spoken

After Tan Chee khoon, Gerakan has not been as vocal as before in articulating political views, or may not be as effective as before. Lim Keng Yaik has spoken out and is well known for speaking out. And he said he would not keep quiet even after he quits politics. He is the second Minister to speak out on the deteriorating racial relations in the country. He told the guilty party that racial issues must not be used to bully the minorities. The sad thing is that this has been going on for the last 30 odd years. But it is better said later than not at all. And it is better said now then eventually having no place and no right to say them if things are allowed to go the way it is. What happens to those sellout ministers and politicians who are representing the minorities? Are they still content to keep quiet as long as their private interests are not disturbed? What are they waiting for after being slapped and slapped ands slapped for all these years and still have the face to face their people? Sometimes I wonder whether politicians are in politics to serve the people or to serve themselves.

William Pesek's page

William Pesek has a one page column in the Straits Times to write all he wants about Asian political happenings. This is a very powerful instrument accorded to anyone in this little red dot, and much more to a foreign writer. William must have earned his right to such a great honour and privilege not bestowed to any local underlings. Such a situation can only happened in an Asian country where there is a dearth of local talent or a foreigner is so damn good that his contributions and views are very superior and useful to inform the locals. William is definitely very good. And he deserves to be given space to write. The pathetic thing is that the dearth of intelligent writers is not a joke but a reality. We can't find any to write as good or half as good as William. So by default, we need to give a foreign talent a whole full page to fill. And we have world class or among the top of the world class tertiary institutions and supertalents in our midst. Where are our local talents? Or they all have no views or no interest in watching Asian political events. All busily trying to make money in property speculations or figuring out how to make a fortune in the coming IR?

Make profit is no crime

"Dr Wong Chiang Yin, the hospital's chief operating officer, said: 'When foreigners walk into a hospital, it can be a little forbidding, so we hope the new centre will meet their needs.'.... As the hospital is located near Changi Airport, it sees transit passengers needing medical attention, and this adds to its influx of foreign patients. The hospital also actively recommends its services to potential foreign patients - through its network of 11 medical associates stationed in Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India. But Dr Wong said that providing additional services like these was not an indication that the hospital was going all out to court foreign patients. 'It's not about making money,' he added. " Can someone talk some sense into this guy? There is no shame in making profits, especially from foreigners. Make as much as you can from foreigners and use the surplus to subsidise the locals. That should be the way to go. Restructured hospitals are profit driven. If they are not going to make profits from foreigners, are they going to make profits from locals? All restructured hospitals must be encouraged to compete for foreign patients and use the higher profits to defray the cost of local patients, or to raise the income of the medical professionals. Just make sure that locals are not turn away because they have no time or for lack of facilities. Increase the capacity if need be. Don't they know how to do business?

Sad for would be pensioners

If the retirement age is raised to 62, the would be pensioners would only be able to collect their pension at 62. If it is raise to 65 or 67, then it can be expected that their pension will only start at the respective age. This may be cheaper to the employer as the expected lifespan after that could be much shorter than starting from 55. Some may not enjoy seeing their pension at all. Big savings.

More ERPs

Come 1 Nov, 4 more ERPs will be up and another 5 on standby to be activated when traffic get congested. Also operation hours will be extended. Can't be helped. No other better ways. This is the most efficient way as it hurts the pocket. No need to pay super talents to manage with such brilliant solutions. Pay any Ah Beng $5k a month and he will come out with a solution as excellent as this.

Sin of wasteful ways

While we are all worry about having not enough money for retirement, applicable to the hardlanders only, we are still caught up in this wasteful cycle of spending our hard earned money thoughtlessly. And at times this wasteful spending is even a compulsion. We waste thoughtlessly on scrapping cars in good working condition in less than 10 years. We waste tearing down sound buildings just to increase the value of the next development. We waste by making HDB flats affordable depending on how much is the savings in the CPF. Those who have certain incomes must pay for bigger flats even if they do not want to. And we even waste by insisting that people who are more financially well off must spend more in paying for more expensive wards in hospitals. They cannot opt for cheaper C wards! MEAN testing. At the other end, the income level of these hardlanders are not increasing exponentially but at a snail pace while cost of living is galloping away. How to expect these people to save enough when the system demands that they spend according to affordability? Why is thrift not encourage but a lip service? Why do we sometimes hear the statement that thrift is good and that people should spend within their means but the system is against this? If we truly believe in savings, then we must not spend extravagantly, unnecessarily, and thoughtlessly. We need a change of mindset and encourage people not to spend if there is no need to spend. And our system should be redesigned to help people to save than to spend. Then there will be more money left. Why people have so little savings for old age when we are one of the highest savers in the world? Is it so difficult to figure out why?

What can possibly be the fuss?

Some were screaming fouls while some say that it is a good thing. For those who think they will live to 100 and have no other means of supporting themselves, having an annuity scheme to see to their last years is a comforting thought. Then why the cries of unhappiness? The official reasons for the compulsory annuity scheme is that the paternalistic govt has serious thought over the problems of ageing and seriously plans for these future oldies. The intent is absolutely noble, genuine and caring. Now who can fault a govt trying to do so much for the people, spending their expensive brain juice for the unthinking and irresponsible masses? And many of the thinking and unthinking masses are truly grateful for such a forward looking and benevolent govt. On the other hand there is a corner who thinks that it is all about no money or not enough money in the CPF to pay out when due. Now this is a serious accusation and a serious problem. And to this group, the annuity scheme, the minimum sum scheme, including the Medisave, are all designed to keep the CPF money away from their rightful owners. And they believe that the govt is trying to play a delaying tactic. If this is true, then the intention is less than innocent. While people can understand that the problem of no money needs to be resovled, by not taking the bull by the horns, and trying all kinds of devious ways to pretend that the problem is not there, and trying funny ways to tackle the issue will only compound the problems. If the problem is not enough money, then it is better to face it and not spending money unwisely on frills and fringes. If the govt can afford to spend on these, then this thought of not enough money must be a wild imagination of this group of people. The third possible reason, just speculating, is that someone thinks that this source of cheap fund should be tapped fully for reinvestment and churning profits for the nation. It is a clever thought. But if this the case, it is ethically wrong and wicked for people to exploit the hard earned money of the people and deprived them of using it. Many will die without enjoying the fruit of their labour and toil. It is a very cruel thing to do. But this is only a wild guess. With so many virtuous people and morally very righteous in charge, the people can rest assured that people with such evil thought will not get their way. Even if they do, retribution will catch up with them one day. So what is the real fuss behind the buzz? There is an official position that sounds so logical and caring. Then some people do not believe so and are cringing with wild imaginations of their own. Who is right and who is wrong? What is the tooth?

What is all the fuss?

The National Rally was delivered with so many goodies. Something for everyone. New futuristic estates, estate upgrading, more interest for CPF, closing the income gap, employment for the old and taking care of all Singaporeans until they are buried. No, the Singaporeans did not ask to be nannied. It is a voluntary self appointed role or right to nanny the Singaporeans, a world class citizenship that cannot look after themselves and their own money. It will be a very sorry state if we have to look after our people from cradle to grave. But indeed we are, helpless Singaporeans or sheeples, unable to think for themselves and needed the good paternalistic govt to think and plan their lives. Is there any hope for Singaporeans? Now that every corner of the island is buzzing about the goodies, and also about their CPF savings, some may be asking, where is my money? When can I have my money back? Amidst all the noise and commotion, what is the real issue behind the din? Is there any real problem that no one knows or want to talk about? Or is everything so bright and rosy? No problem at all?

Are we in a sorry state now?

‘We can’t have a situation where we protect you even from yourself. If the entire population needs to be protected from their own choices, then we will be in a very, very sorry state in the future. “My own sense of it is Singapore is now a much more mature society and, generally, the vast majority of Singaporeans can be trusted to make up their own minds, exercise their choices and act responsibly. “The fundamental question is, are we ready as a society to let people make choices of their own, take responsibility for their actions and face the consequences?” Minister for Community, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan during the debate on the casino issue. Obviously many in the cabinet did not agree with Vivian that Singaporeans are mature enough to take care of themselves. That is why their CPF money must be kept for as long as possible, with some left behind after they are dead, for safe measures. Just in case, just in case. Now are we in a sorry state now?

Annuity and char kway teow logic

What is annuity? It is like taking a big sum of money to give to someone to invest for you and promise to pay you a small sum till you die. So Ah Pek will take his $100k to an insurer to manage and invest for him with a promise. In the meantime Ah Pek must hope that the insurer will not go bust or run away. And also the insurer is smart enough to make more money than he can afford to pay his management fee and Ah Pek. If the insurer lost money in his investment, then trouble starts. Buying annuity requires a lot of faith and hope. Is it really worth it? And how much does it cost the govt to look after some of the oldies who are above 85 years old? Not every oldie will need govt charity. Only some. What does the statistics of today's oldies above 85 say? How many are dependent on charity or have their own means of living? I think one plate of char kway teow will be enough to provide for all the oldies that are destitutes and without any dependent to fall back on.

Singapore Malaysia Relations

The problem is not with Singapore but Malaysia. This is the view expressed by Anwar Ibrahim at a seminor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies yesterday. Some may not agree with him, but reading his comments carefully, there is a lot of truth in what he said. We are two closely knit neighbours and we could benefit a lot by working closely together. He admitted that Singapore can be very tough in negotiation. But that is negotiation and should not affect the relations between the two states. Malaysia can also be tough when negotiating with Singapore but both can find common ground instead of inciting racial hatred between Malays and Chinese. And this racial element is not only affecting relations between the two states but also the internal politics of Malaysia. Malaysia has a lot to gain by working closely with their Chinese and the Singapore Chinese instead of silly bickering for political mileage.

Howe Yoon Chong - His own man

'One of the lessons which he impressed on me was to be true to yourself, to say what you believe in, even if it means being disagreeable.' Vivian Balakrishnan. The above was what Vivian commented on Howe Yoon Chong. And from the other comments of personal experiences by other politicians, Howe Yoon Chong was indeed his own man. He did not minced words and he said what he meant. And for that, he naturally would find being a politicians difficult. And for that it is an admirable quality of a man who was true to himself all the time. No hypocrisy, no double talk. Just stuck to his principles and what he believed in, come what may. How many politicians can live to be like Howe Yoon Chong and be their true self? If we cannot respect such a man, what else can we respect?

Annuity - Nagging questions

How many people will live more than 85 years? How many of them will be destitutes and need charity? Can the govt afford to pay $300 pm to these octogenarians? Why go to all the trouble to implement a scheme that is unpopular and will only benefit a very small number of people? Please don't give the crap that all these old people will be dependent on welfare. The bulk of the lost generations, the uneducated, penniless, homeless and unemployable will be over in 10 or 20 years. The generations after them are not so desperate. Most would have something to fall back on. Those who still have to depend on charity will be those that have nothing in their CPF for the govt of hold back and neither would they have any HDB flats. These will be the new dropouts of society, the drug addicts, the loafers, etc, a small minority. And people are working longer from now on. Why are we doing all these? The problem so serious?

Quick, raise the lawyers' salary

Another lawyer has disappeared with client's money. Now, when are they going to learn? This is another vindication that the pay them well policy is the solution to prevent such problems. Quick, quick, increase their salaries....

Celebrating Singaporean - Howe Yoon Chong

He was not suave, charismatic, nor did he look like a TV star. Maybe more like Deng Xiao Ping. He was the unglamorous man that got things done. This is another pioneering leader that helped to build what Singapore is today. Would anyone put up a statue of him beside the foreign worker to honour his contribution? He was famous in Mindef. Heard stories that when he called up officers into his office, they trembled in their pants. And when he was scolding them, you could hear his voice at the other end of the corridor. Did I get my stories right? He was something like Goh Keng Swee, a doer that got things done with no nonsense. I did not know him as a man of humour. But he did joke. 'My hobby is getting some rest.'

Laws of Nature

When the old NKF were suing people in court, they were laughing to the bank. Easy money when the other party could not pay the legal fees and gave up the fight. The rest is history. Then Virtual Map also sued many users who copied their maps without persmission and were laughing to the bank with the high compensation claims. Virtual Map has been sued by Singapore Land Authority and lost. They are appealing. For the moment Odex is in a way repeating history, claiming compensations from illegal downloaders. Will history be repeated?