The end is near

What will Singapore be in 2015? What if 35 years later, in 2050, mother earth calls it a day? Is it possible, given the facts of a climate change caused by the abuses of humankind, to produce and produce, more lives and accessories to keep lives going, that we will destroy our one and only liveable habitat? We believe that we can live till 85 years or more. Can we also believe that the world will be so sick in 35 years that it is futile to think of living to 85? People can believe the good news, that they will all live till 85 and must start to prepare and save for that day. I say all because all will be made to prepare for that day because the human gods have said so. For those who believe in a different group of human gods and see the end is near, that by 2050, there is nothing much to look forward to actually, should they be preparing for that day by living to the fullest everyday that they can have now? Whichever way one chooses, it is just a matter of belief. Both scenarios are highly possible. Unfortunately, in one case one cannot chose but must do, compulsory, to prepare to live till 85. The other is still a free choice. So the former must be the greater truth, or tooth. All resources are committed along that belief. It will surely happen.

Myth 168

Policy making myth 'Singaporeans... depend on the Government to get its policies right. That's easier said than done. Today's policymakers have to grapple with myriad demands.' This statement is printed boldly on the Straits Times special coverage on policy making in Singapore. Superficially it looks very difficult given the multi racial and religious composition of the country and the limited resources. We are grappling, yes, everyday, but not because policies are difficult to make. Just make it compulsory. Period. What so difficult about that? Prices of public transport, just raise. Who is to say no? Essential services, suka suka just up. What can the people do. Can the people protest, take to the streets? Are there any alternatives? Look at the compulsory annuity schemes. It is simply compulsory. And they even think that it is alright to take the members money and pass it to other people without their consent. They are now grappling with the minute details on how to make it palatable. But the key issue is that many people do not need the annuity scheme. This will not be addressed. It is compulsory. Need it or not, irrelevant. Everyone must pay. Is it that difficult to make such a policy? A scheme, or any scheme, is only well received if the people need it. Obviously not everyone needs it. And also, not everyone can afford it. But it will be a done deal.

KPKB in cyberspace works

Who says kpkb in the internet has no effect? After all the cursing and swearing that Singaporeans are getting a raw deal while PRs are getting a free ride, things are changing. Hospital subsidies for PRs and foreigners are going to change. No subsidies for foreigners and lesser subsidies for PRs. Why does it take so long to realise how stupid such a policy was when Singaporeans are not getting any better than PRs and foreigners? And if the bloggers and forumers were not in cyberspace to kpkb, I think there will not be any policy change on this. Bloggers and forumers should give themselves a pat for changing this policy. And the govt, ok, should also be given a pat for listening to the cries in the wilderness.

Reining in property prices

More residential units in suburban areas for upgraders. This move is to curb the high property prices that is running out of reach of Singaporeans wanting to upgrade. With the kind of salary that the average Singaporeans are getting, it is unlikely that they can afford the kind of prices of private properties unless they want to pay for them for life. Would the new measures help? Executive condominiums with some restrictions on income level should keep the very rich out of this market. So the average Singaporeans can compete among themselves. Sounds ok. But with an average intake of 50k PRs coming into the market annually, how is this going to make a difference? Are PRs entitle to buy exec condos? I think so. So how much will this affect the opportunities given to Singaporean upgraders?

Creating a new social divide

The high cost of living is going to be the deciding factor in how society will polarise. The rich will be rich and the poor will be poor or poorer. This is a reality that no one can escape. What is unfortunate and apparent is how Singaporeans contribute to this division consciously. Without a healthy bank account or income, the life and future of the lower income are quite bleak actually. No matter how much assistance the govt is going to throw at them, if the poor do not help themselves and lighten their own burden, they will succumb to the pressure of simply living. Families with one or two children will definitely fare better, all things being equal, than those with 4 or 8 children. They just have more resources to bring up fewer children. And they will float to the top of the social class. Those who could not support their abundant children will simply sink lower. This is a natural social law and order. Will this social divide bring more tension and stress to our society down the road? Definitely. And it will manifest in many forms.

Unbelieveable! Taxi drivers not happy with fare hike

The taxi fare hike is coming to town and taxi drivers are unhappy. Some. Others think it is good as it will pay for some of the higher costs. For the unhappy lot, the reason is simple. All the consumers are feeling the pinch not just because of higher transport cost but everything is up. Even a 30c increase will affect a significant portion of the people. And this will affect their income. Why is it that only the taxi drivers and the commuters are the people to bear the brunt for the increasing cost? Why are taxi operators still protecting their income without having to bear any of the increases? A 30c increase for 100 passenges daily will bring in an additional $30 to the taxi driver or about $900 monthly. This will definitely be enough to cover the additional costs and maybe even pay for higher rental fees to the taxi operators. Whatever increases the commuters pay. So commuters who cannot afford the rising cost, just go for substitution. Take public transport. And if public transport also goes up, ride bicycle. For those aged or have difficulties in moving around, don't move around. Everyone must adapt to the rising cost and change their lifestyle. Lifestyle is changeable according to one's pocket.

Comparing a well against an ocean

Dr Wong Jock Onn wrote to the Straits Times lamenting how well he was received and treated by the Australians while living and working there. He said that the Australians did not have a 'us and them' mentality vis a vis foreigners. How true. He is born way pass the time when there was a 'white policy' with regards to immigration. In fact that policy is still in place but watered down. But his gist is that Singaporeans must welcome foreigners with open arms like the Aussies and make foreigners feel at home. He forgot that Australia is a continent of less than 30 million people while Singapore is a dot with 4 million people and everyone is fighting for space and air to breathe and a job to feed themself. Think carefully before comparing a well with an ocean. Australia has all the space for people of the world. Do we? We are even fighting for a seat in the train with foreigners. One day they will come to blows. In Oz, you can drive for hundreds of km without seeing a human bean.

Money grabbing politics

'Much money-grabbing from the national tills were effected by those within or connected to the elite ruling political party. I sincerely hope the Hindraf case will not only bring the plight of the Indians to the international forum but the plight of other minorities as well.' The above quote is copied from www.littlespeck.com. It is written by a non Malay who said he had left but not sure whether it is Malaysia or the civil service.

Lawyers touting?

Lawyers were fined for touting or soliciting for business. And I think many businesses are also affected by such archaic practices. Why can't a professional offers his services at the best rate that he can offer? Should we liberalise all the practices and allow the free market to regulate businesses? There shall be minimum rules governing business and commercial practices as long as fair and ethical practices are adopted. There shall be transparency and a level playing field. Cartels, monopolies and protectionism shall be removed and made illegal. We need free trade and free entreprises to bring out the best in business and individual enterprise.

Human Rights - Confucianist version

Long before the western world talked about human rights, Confucian had clearly defined what human rights were meant to be. These rights were enshrined in the principles of destiny or fate. People were born to be kings or workers and all were expected to live through their destiny in the best they could. A king shall be a good king and shall rule the country in the best way he could. For that he is bestowed with all the powers and authority to do as he pleases as a king. The people who are born to be workers shall be examplary workers, be they carpenters, taxi drivers or production workers. They shall just put in all their energy and effort to be good workers. And that is their right. The ministers or government officials shall be good government officials and manage the country for the king. They shall all be obeyed. The father shall all be good fathers and children be good childrens etc etc As long as everyone does his part and live within his destined life, live responsibly and does not interfere in matters outside his realm of existence, there will be order and peace on earth. That is the Confucianist version of human rights. Everyone has the right to live his or her life as what he is born to be. And I believe all the Asean countries will love to live by this version of human rights.

Myth 167 Condor Heroes

Condor Heroes For those who are familiar with this Chin Yong's martial art serial, they will be familiar with the art of left hand fighting right hand. This is a skill mastered and taught by the infantile old master Zhou Bo Tong. Whenever he was bored he would use his right hand to fight his left hand. Of course both hands would never be hurt. And he could fight for as long as he wanted, it is just another kind of wayang kulit. This is a good skill to learn and apply in modern living. Let the right hand fight the left hand, sometimes right hand lose, sometimes left hand lose, or whichever one so desires. The master is still the master.

Human Rights in Singapore?

'It should not be there just for the sake of advocacy. Human rights issues have to be conginzant of the society they are applied to, and the degree of sophistication of the country and people.' Baey Yam Keng This has been the talk of the town since we took over the Chair of Asean and people are expecting that Singapore should take some kind of lead or leadership in promoting human rights. In my view, Singapore does not need any human rights organisation not that we are not sophisticated enough for it. Also our society does not need a human rights group for the sake of human rights movement. We are free from human rights abuses. Compare to all the Asean countries, no one can come near us as far as human rights are concerned. We are the best. Even the US, the champion of international human rights, is our best friend. That speaks volumes for our human rights record. Other countries should follow our examples on human rights and treat their people as fairly as us. We deserve a medal from the US and the UN on human rights.

Better taxi service and higher fare

There were several suggestions in the Today paper on how to improve the taxi service and increase the income of taxi drivers. But none is better than my suggestion for a $10 flag down rate. This $10 is not only effective, it will make everyone happy. First, because it is a bit more expensive than the present $2.50 rate, it will deter those who cannot afford the new rate to take taxis. Then more taxis will be available for those who can afford it. And they will be happy. Those who have to give up taxis can take our efficient and comfortable public transport system. For taxi drivers, nothing better to say. With $2.50 already some profit. With $10 they should be happy and encouraged to make our taxi profession a first choice profession and better quality service. And for the taxi operators, they can increase the rental rates too. See, everyone happy.

Price to keep a killer as pet

Investigation revealed that the rottweilers had attacked the son of a friend and required about 10 stitches. The AVA ordered that 2 of the rottweilers must be given away. So the owner will still have 3 at home. Is this good enough measure to keep the dogs from attacking another human bean? What the AVA should introduce is mandatory caning or imprisonment for the owner should any big dog attack a human bean. This will put the responsibility squarely on the owner and they will have to take all precautions to prevent such an attack. The current penalty is too little and will not be a deterrence and owners who have a lot of money will willingly throw the money at the unfortunate victims. The owner of big ferocious dogs must be made to bear the pain and suffering of their victims. And the fine must be very heavy, maybe $100k, and the licence should also be up, $10k a year. That should be a reasonable price for the right to keep a killer as a pet.

Myth 166

Boom or bust? Our economy is booming and we have full employment. Everyone must be doing well, gainfully employed. It is our golden year. Why are we rolling out more financial aids for people who need help? Why are there more people desperately needing help in a booming economy with full employment? Why isn't the wealth of the country spread to the lower income people faster?

Taxi fares must go up

With the high operating cost, higher fuel prices etc, it is so unreal to expect taxi drivers to continue to drive their taxis at the same fare. And it is also well acknowledged that our taxi fares are too low compare to the big cities. How can public transport like MRT and buses be allowed to keep going up but not for taxis? If there is any compulsion to keep fares affordable, it must be MRT and buses as these are used by the workers whose income have actually gone down quite badly due to all the increases. There are hundreds and one reasons to support taxi fare hike. One of which is that it is a more than just a means of transport. It is a luxury in a way compares to buses and MRT. We should see the flag down fare increase to $10. That would make taxi driving as a job more attractive and cut down on all the other schemes. And it can do away with all the charges and surcharges. $10 flag down rate is the way to go.

The tooth and fiction of Singapore

More and more people are coming forward pleading for help and assistance. They cannot feed themselves anymore. A can of cheap China produced luncheon meat used to cost $1.30. It is now $2.50, and out of stock. A plate or rice or noodle used to cost $3 but now $3.50 or more. A loaf of bread costing $1.80 is now more than $2. How could the people afford this kind of prices when they live on $290 pm? But what do they expect? Eat in restaurant? But of course this is fictional Singapore. They are just cooked up stories of hard luck Singaporeans. Just someone's imaginations to create a negative impression of this paradise on earth. The true Singapore, he paid $435 million for a condo! Now that is more real. Another bought a 5rm HDB flat for more than $730,000, all for a good sea view. A family is paying $5,000 just for rental alone, and no sweat at all. Another was paying $10,000 but saved $2,000 by moving to the lower floor. And a supervisor with 5 young children could smoke a pack of cigarettes costing $10 daily. And can afford to pay $100 for mobile phone bill for only one of the children. What about me? I can't afford to smoke, or I don't smoke. And my mobile phone bill is a consistent $14 pm, hardly exceeded and used for business and personal matters. And I feel very tight in my pocket. Which is fiction, which is tooth?

Payment for life

How much does a politician contribute to the country and people in a 2 term office to deserve payment for life? This is something that has not been really discussed in parliament or in the msm except in some naughty blogs and websites. It would be interesting to hear this issue debated in parliament. The old belief of political office as a personal sacrifice sounds quite hollow today when remunerations are pegged to market rate or more. Working for two terms and being paid for life is definitely more than anything the market will pay.

End of NKF saga

Matilda Chua was fined $10k for falsifying accounts unrelated to the NKF saga. And this marks the closing of an ugly and amusing chapter of corporate governance and how public donations to charities were simply money under the bridge. On record, former chairman Richard Yong and ex treasurer Loo Say San were fined $5k each for their parts in the saga. The CEO Durai was jailed for 3 months for deceiving the NKF. He is appealing and has yet to serve his sentence, I think. He is probably employed by a big company working in the Middle East as a CEO or something like that. Justice has been done. What happened to all the missing loot? Were they recovered and how much were recovered? God knows. Waiting for a summation of the case in the msm to mark the official conclusion of the case. And nothing more was heard of the infamous Aboobacker. Lucky fellow. How would the ending and punishment affect future corporate governance? Would people be encouraged to repeat the saga, after all it is only a few thousand dollars to pay and the rewards and perks were more than one can bargain for? All in all, the story has a happy ending.

Tharman the first non Chinese PM?

He has risen and risen, holding the two important portfolios of Education and Finance. And speculation is that he is meant for bigger things... perhaps the next PM. His credential is impeccable except for the little skirmish that was long forgiven. Now it is up to Tharman to win the hearts part is easier. Winning the voters confidence that he is going to be the next PM will be trickier. But all things can happen in the city of possibilities.