No easy way out

When asked, Lim Swee Say said that cutting CPF is a last resort and should only be used after all measures have failed. I would presume that retrenchment should be a last resort for companies to take when they are trimming cost. Retrenchment is a very painful process and has a serious psychological effect on the affected staff and should not be treated lightly. Are we going to see more companies starting their retrenchment exercises as we enter a phase of recession? If that is the alternative, pay cut or CPF cut could be more palatable. The Union's stand is that no company will be allowed to take the easy way out by retrenching staff in difficult times.

No snake oils allowed

It took so many years and a big bust to realise how dangerous the pseudo bonds and notes were. Many the world over were mesmerised by the 'sophistications' of these derivatives and other similar products like CDOs and credit default swaps. As long as they are from Wall Street, as long as the Americans think that they are good, who is wiser to say no to these products. We do now although many still think that there is nothing wrong with such products. Whole industry has sprung up to service and participate in the euphoria of these high earning and high growth financial snake oils. Their failure will now see the industry collapses and many people going out of job. No one is going to touch any of these derivatives for a long time to come. But they will mutate and sneak in again in different forms. Hopefully everyone will be wiser and more careful in scrutinising any such products in the future. There are similar products in the stock markets that are no better than snake oils. There are many highly sophisticated instruments being peddled to the unsophisticated punters who just know how to punt without the knowledge or ability to understand how they work. And there are the flawed IPOs that should never be listed at all but only through the collusion of a number of participants that made them possible. And the end result is that they collapsed within a few years but after taking all the money from the innocent investors. So far no one has been taken to task or held accountable for such misleading IPOs and products. The auditors and rating agencies and issue managers just pat their backside and life goes on as if nothing happens. The investors who lost their monies are expected to accept their fate as a bad choice, as something inevitable. It is time to stop snake oils from being peddled to innocent investors. No snake oil or tainted milk is allowed in our financial system. We have seen it, know what they are. There is no reason to let it be and do nothing. It is irresponsible to let them come in after seeing the dangers they pose to the investors. We must be responsible to ensure that innocent investors are protected from snake oils and tainted milk.

Lehman Bros being sued

Sued for misleading investors Nov 10, 2008 Suit against Lehman, UBS seeks an order certifying it as a class-action. LEHMAN Brothers Holdings Inc's Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld and UBS AG's US brokerage were accused in a lawsuit of misleading investors who bought Lehman's 'principal protected notes' before its September bankruptcy. The complaint, filed on Nov 6 in federal court in Manhattan, claims Mr Fuld and 10 other past and current Lehman directors deceived investors about the risks of buying notes that are now almost worthless, Bloomberg news reported on Monday. The suit seeks unspecified damages and an order certifying it as a class-action, or group lawsuit, on behalf of other investors.... The above was posted in Tan Kin Lian's blog. I am just wondering how it will affect the cases here if Lehman Bros is found guilty, and has to compensate the investors in full. Will the investors here be entitled to the same full compensation, maybe with damages as well, despite the fact that they have read and signed the disclaimers, that they are implied to have agreed with all the terms in the sales agreements?

06.06.06 and 66.6 are ominous signs

Too coincidental, too bad. Believers of these signs will say, 'I tell you so.' These are signs that may not be relevant to the non believers. But these are not the only signs that are appearing since the ominous day of 06.06.06. Things are happening and getting more serious in nature. The very first inkling of things going awry was the Wee Shu Min episode. This established the kind of discord and the distancing of the elite from the losers in paradise. The divide was not only widening but became public. Then came NKF, Mas Selamat, delay of CPF withdrawal, the ERPs, no pay rise for the workers, high prices of everything, and now the financial crisis. I must not forget to mention the banning of a cycling event in a park. Though these events were trying, testing to the govt, they could be handled and turned towards the govt's favour. Unfortunately every single event was handled in a way that left much to be desired. The consequences were the lost of political capital. Wonder if there is any left in the bag for the next general election. To make matters worst, the comments from the leaders were less than enlightening. Often people felt so hurt by them that they reacted by ridiculing the speakers. Throughout our independence, never have our leadership been found so wanting, so wishy washy in tackling problems and in siding with the wrong side, not on the side of the people. The leaders may think that they were speaking from a legalistic or factual point of view and expected the people to see the logic and wisdom of their words. Would the people be so rational and so sheepish, and accept the profound wisdom, and move on? Apparently the people are dumbfounded.

Time for a minority PM

There were many discussions about the eventuality of a minority PM in govt. This is a rather sensitive issue that is close to the hearts of the minorities. It is only a natural human instinct that they want to see their own kind becoming successful, rising to the peak of any profession. And as the number of the minorities grows in strength, the voice will be louder. The rooting for a minority PM should not be seen as a racial thing. It is just their aspiration. But if the majority takes a stand that the PM must be from the majority, then it may be seen from a different light, maybe a racist thing. So the majority should not talk too much about such an issue and let the minorities air their 'grievances', a bit of letting off the steam. From my observation of events, it would not be long before a minority PM be elected by popular vote. We have excellent minority ministers in the like of Tharman, Vivian and Shanmugam. They stand a head above the others in terms of leadership quality, charisma and eloquence. And professionally they are the cream of their profession. All they need is to turn on their offensive charm. And knowing the shallowness of the majority politicians in politics, though they all believe that they are shrewd and inborn politicians, they will soon vote for a minority PM. As far as politiking is concerned, the majority is at best naive or plainly inadequate. Look at all the interest groups and associations and it is no surprise that the one that is calling the shot is often from the minority. Anyone from the majority that assumes the position of chairman or president is likely to be a pet of the real power holder. Another point in favour of the minority is that the majority are also believers in meritocracy. And when they see a better candidate than themselves, they will be the first to give the candidate their full support. My advice to the minorities is to be impatient. A minority PM is a high probability. And they may get a bonus, with a minority President and a minority PM at the same time. They need not wait for long.

A wise and prudent move

There are many people demanding that Temasek and GIC should be more transparent and to reveal how much they really have in their portfolios. We have heard of $200b or thereabout. Some speculated that it could be more. Temasek and GIC’s stand not to disclose what are in their coffers should be appreciated. The world is infested with ruthless and greedy predators and they are constantly eyeing any organisation that has money. When they have winds of that, soon they will make their way in with their brilliant proposals only to con these organisations of their hoards. To these financial experts, it is as easy as ABC. We have seen this happening a bit too often. The moral of the story is not to let people know that you have money. They will come and help themselves with it. And the $200m per annum calibre thieves from Wall Street are not easy to parry off especially when your treasures are guarded by $20m calibre material. No fight. Alternatively we may want to employ the $200m type to prey on other smaller funds managed by lesser material. Let’s be prudent and not to tell anyone about how much we have in our savings

Equal misery?

I just read Gerald Giam's article on axing staff by companies to boost profitability. Down sizing is always a last step in a company's list of options to cut cost as its impact on the affected employees is more than just losing a job. It is something that responsible management should think very carefully before doing. Maybe the trade unions should take a stand on this issue. Companies that are still making profits, though lower, should not be allowed to axe staff. Such a measure can only be supported by the unions when the company is going into the red. A few years of lower profits or even no profit is not something that is intolerable. And just a play on numbers. If companies are paying 12 mths or more bonuses, by halving the bonus payout is equivalent to cutting the staff by a quarter. And to cut a 10% workforce, the company could simply reduce the bonuses by 20 or 30%. No need for desperate measures like retrenchment. Companies have a social obligation to their employees and to society to avoid such drastic and destructive measures. Do companies resort to retrenchment to protect their big bonuses?

Uncle Ho to the rescue

Marina Sands in trouble? Fear Not. Vegas, Sands or whatever, are not the only casino operators available. If Sands could not complete the job, there is Genting waiting in the wing. And if two Gentings are too much to stomach, we can always invite Uncle Ho from Macao to pay us a visit. I can't remember why he was not allowed to bid for the Marina Sands then. Maybe he was viewed as another SWF, not welcomed. But now that SWF are welcomed the world over with open arms, being courted even by the US and EU, it would not be too much trouble to tell Uncle Ho that he is welcomed to take over from Sands. There will be many suitors waiting in the queue in case Marina Sands throw in the towel. And it could be had for a song. What a great opportunity! Temasek should seriously consider running it on its own, 100% Singapore owned.

The world then was a different place

When all the banks were selling minibonds and high notes, the world then was a vastly different place. It was like in the 19th Century when the British and the Europeans were selling opium to the Chinese. It was a different world then. America too was a different place when Africans were caught, bought and sold in the market place. At times when everyone is doing it, it is acceptable to join in the fun. When time has caught up, when the moral of the time changes, whatever happens should be relegated to the backyard of history. Let's move on. We are still living in a time when greed is good. It is a time when talents are measured by how much they can command. We will have to wait till this phase of civilisation is over before selling toxic stuff or cheating is found to be criminal. Is it pragmatism, survival instinct, or simple weakness of human beans? Or is it talent at its best, seizing on the opportunities of the moment to make a pile?

Age of No Accountability

This is becoming the new state of affair all over the world. No one will be held accountable for failures or mistakes. And to make it more amusing, the higher the position of power, the lesser is the risk of being held accountable. Only the front line workers will be held responsible and be blamed. The is the Paradox of Power. We have seen this in the Mother of All Mistakes, the invasion of Iraq on the ground that it possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction. All that is passe. Everyone knows that it was a lie. Then the happenings in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraid Prisons. No one will he held accountable for the abuses of prisoners and wrongly held prisoners. No one will be held responsible for the hundreds of thousands of wounded and death, and destruction in Iraq. The latest shit is the financial crisis. Everyone now knows who created all these shits, all the collaborators, from the financial genius who created the products, the rating agencies who colluded to rate them as super safe, the management who approved them for public consumption and the regulators who went in bed with them. None of them will be held accountable. They will go on to live happily with their loots. Our mini version of the minibonds and high notes will go the same way. No one will be held responsible. The fingers are only pointing at the relationship managers. The rest of the gods are simply innocent.

Abuse and wastage of technology

We apply satellite technology to track taxis around the island. We also apply the same technology to tell people how to go from point A to B in this 700 sq km of rock. We wired the island to tell drivers that it would take 5 or 10 minutes to reach somewhere along his destination when you can reach the other end of the island in 30 minutes. We wired the city to tell drivers where got car parks. These are abuses of technology and a big waste of money. Technology and equipment cost money. Then there is the regular maintenance, servicing, repairs, replacement etc. Who is paying for them? Even in MRT stations, you can see technology everywhere. Many are unnecessary or a cheaper form will suffice. They have tried mobile TVs in the train and failed miserably. Last night I heard another childish gadget is going to be installed in the trains. The SMRT is trying out an electronic station map to let passengers know where they are and which is the next station, and which train line they are on, electronically wired to the trained grid. And to make it meaningful and readable to all the commuters, which probably 1% will need it, these expensive and high tech gadgets will be installed generously along the walls of the trains. Who is paying for these toys? I remember that whenever a train approaches a station, they will be a voice calling out the station's name. And before the train moves on, the same voice will say, 'next station, Bishan or City Hall'. Not good enough? Please tell us how much these new toys will cost the commuters. Yes, the commuters will be paying for such bright and ingenious ideas that only super talents can come out with and find them necessary and futuristic, befitting a world class transport system conveying third world illiterate workers. And with such great improvements, fares will have to go up to match the technology.

Time to spend

In good time we spend because money was aplenty. In bad time we lagi need to spend to help the economy. For those who don't have much cash, look into your CPF. There are plenty of money there and it is time to do national service. Use them to revitalise the economy. Go for a stay in the hospital for a good annual checkup, if you can charge it to the Medisave. Or those who have serious illnesses and are not treating it, treat it now. Maybe with recession, the hospital may charge a little less. Then those who are planning to buy a flat, go for it now, and use your CPF. Buy before the price comes down. There is also the spend first pay later schemes like going for a holiday or charging to the credit cards. Do something for the country now. Such benevolent acts will help the economy from going down and the suppliers of goods and services very happy.

Stop complaining about high tariff

All the kpkb in cyberspace, especially in TOC should be toned down. It is a lesson that Singaporeans have not learnt. You know what will happen if Singaporeans complain too much? Of course we all know. Let me put it this way. I can think of 100 and 1 reasons to raise electricity tariff two or three folds. And the logic will be so easy to understand and the people will have to accept them, like it or not. That is the power of good reasoning. All about logic. The first premise is that energy is a precious resource and should not be wasted. People must learn or be taught the hard way to conserve energy. And it is not just about the green movement, to save the earth. Oil and gas are not replaceable unlike water. Water will return to earth after use. But oil and gas will take millenium to reprocess themselves. I think the above are very good reasons to use less energy and not to waste them unnecessarily. Singaporeans must be taught, in the same way we conserve water, to pay more for this precious resource. We will start by a 100% energy conservation tax. Then top it up with a green tax. And to reinforce the message, add another 100%, call it whatever you like, to make sure that Singaporeans will get use to paying high energy tariffs. That will shut them up and they will not have time to complain so much. The Singaporeans had it so good for so long with cheap energy tariffs. Time to make them pay.

World class standard

According to Geoffrey Lim of LTA, our train capacity is 1,600 or 4.9 passengers per square metre. This is lesser than 7 passengers in Tokyo. So we are better than Tokyo. Anyone try to imagine what it is like to stand 4.9 people in a one square meter box? That is not my standard of world class transport. Can we set a standard of our own that we deem as comfortable or decent for our people instead of relying on other people's standard? I reckon that a decent standard should be 4 passsengers per square meter. That will save one from sharing the bad breath and body odour of the other person. And for the ladies, they will be spared the unintentional gropping or rubbing. Let's set our own standard can? Let's show the world that we are a leader and we set what we think is good for us and the world.

Energy prices to be down by 20%

I heard this over the news last night that energy prices will fall by 20% over the next 5 years because of greater competition and LNG. I went really, uh, am I dreaming or is it a joke? Would anyone of you believe that this can really come true? We have heard so many great speeches that privatisation and competition will improve efficiency and bring down cost. I have yet to see one instance that it really happens and the consumers were paying less for improved services and products. All we know is that they were craps. I for one will not believe that energy prices will come down by even 1%. But time will tell. Just hope that everyone reading this will remember it and start counting to see if it is a truth or another tooth in the next 5 years to come.

AVA for financial products

I have held back this post for a few days. Now I read that Andy Ho is also thinking along the same line. Yes we need an agency to police financial products. Apparently and already confirmed, more needs to be done to ensure that financial products, derivatives etc are safe for consumption just like what AVA is doing for food and edible stuff. There is no running away from this. We need an AVA equivalent for the financial industry as a safeguard to protect the vulnerable from the highly technical and financially clever products that could be toxic and dangerous for the public. Let’s set up a watchdog quickly before more lethal products are being designed by the financial wizards to be sold to the gullible. Andy Ho lamented that there was lack of regulations in the financial industry. Actually there are plenty, targetted at the small thieves, the front line staff. These people are watched like a hawk, made to undergo a lot of courses, and sign a lot of documents. But they forgot that the real thieves, the big thieves, are the big boys. These are the ones that designed and pushed out the foul products. And they got away with murder while the little boys got roasted. Just a couple of days I was calling for the setting up of an Ethics Committee. Now I am calling for the setting up of another watchdog organization. I know that nothing will be done to all these calls. But it is still necessary to kpkb knowing very well that no one wants to know the truth.

Another issue ,another Tan Kin Lian in the making

The neglect or non recognition of the pre school teachers is starting to stir. Dr Christine Chen, President of the Association for Early Childhood Education is making a call for all the childcare teachers to come together to fight for their neglected cause. And since no one is interested in them except for some lip service, they would rather take the future of their profession into their own hands. Don't be surprise that the next group of people mounting the mounds of Hong Lim Park will be your childcare teachers. Many of them are quite well qualified, with diplomas and degrees and even PhDs but chose to look after children for the love of them and passion. Let's see whether their cause will be taken up and who will take the lead.

Melamine in our backyard?

While the world is engrossed in the melamine scare, do we have the same problem in our backyard? I am not too sure. From some of the snippets that I have heard, the story goes like this. In order to keep goreng pisang and fried chicken wings from turning limp after hours on the shelf, the hawkers just throw a plastic bottle into the boiling oil before throwing in the pisang and chicken wing. And the melted plastic, probably melamine, will coat these foodstuff with a layer of plastic to keep them hard and firm. When you bite into them you know that it is not the natural crispyness, but hardness. The AVA should take a look at the pasar malam stalls selling such products and ensure that they are not plastic or melamine coated.

Freedom of choice and association

Freedom of fear and free to live life. These are the things that make America a great country. I feel so impressed by the way the Presidential Election is being conducted. Both candidates were free to run their election campaign the way they want it without any bureaucratic obstruction. Obama was allowed to buy network time to reach out to the people. In some countries these will definitely not be allowed. And the bureaucracy, the law enforcers, the election committee etc etc, all play an impartial role in allowing both candidates equal room and space, without any favour. And the two candidates fought each other aggressively but without resorting to any threats or underhand tactics. Somehow, while I am immensely impressed by the American ways of democracy and equality in the eyes of the law, I got this feeling of shame.

Tempering with land sales and property prices

The govt is withholding the sales of land for the moment as demand for properties have fallen. That makes good business sense. Sell when the demand is high, to command higher price and also to prevent prices from escalating. Very logical. A letter by Ee Teck Siew in Today questioned the tempering of the supply and demand of land as it will artificially prop up prices but will not allow prices to fall to their real values. His reasoning is that people are complaining that properties and rentals are too high. Shouldn't we let the market determine the price? We have a free market don't we? Now property owners will be up in arms against him. How can he suggest that we let property prices to fall? My property is all I got, my HDB flat is all I got. But the young who are looking for a cheaper flat will be supporting him. Ya, let the market decides the true value of properties. Stop meddling with supply and demand. We cannot buy expensive flats at sky high prices. Let it drop the natural way. Who is tempering with the free market forces?