Low talent caught cheating $1.22

The low talents deserved it. Want to cheat also dunno how to cheat and got caught some more. And of all things, trying to cheat $1.22 to save paying MRT fare! Lee Heng Anne, 55, was caught for doing exactly this. And she was fined $700. Why can't these low talents learn to be smarter? They must learn from the high talents, want to cheat, cheat a lot and find ways to call it anything else except cheating. Do a little window dressing and may get away scot free some more. Cheat big requires a lot of talent. Look at all the Wall Street CEOs, anyone caught for cheating? The best is the CEO of Merrill Lynch for asking a US$15m bonus. He said the company's problem could be worst if not because of him and his talent. He deserves the bonus for such a good justification.

The landlord's logic

When everyone is increasing the rental or the sale price of the properties, I must also increase lah. But your propertiesre built 30 years ago and your cost of maintenance did not go up so much, why are you doubling or tripling your rental and price? It is business lah. Business means make profit, as much as the other party can pay. And don't forget, my own pay and bonuses must go up to keep up with my higher standard of living.

Tenacious pursuit of a cause

The fortnight outings at Hong Lim where the minibond bond victims congregate to hear the sermon from the mount is still going on. The number is dwindling. I am surprised that it could go on for so long. But knowing the habit of Singaporeans it will die a natural death. Soon no one will be there except for Tan Kin Lian and his friends. It will be just another event gone by and assigned to the dusty collections of history. Many issues that touched the people very dearly too were sent to oblivion. There is no tenacity in the Singaporeans pursuit for a cause except for the rebel. Rebels there were and still a few. They are the one who will stick to their cause and tailed their targets everywhere. Unfortunately there are too few of them and with even fewer supporters of their cause. Time will take care of everything. What would happen to the minibond case if there is no Tan Kin Lian? What would happen to the case when the attendance in Hong Lim becomes zero?

The fairness of natural justice

On Shu Kio, the wife of Richard Yong of NKF fame, has pleaded guilty in Hong Kong for money laundering and could face up to 14 years jail and a fine of $1.1m. And the money she transferred out, $4.6m may also be gone with the wind. Richard Yong had served his due for his part in the NKF. But On Shu Kio is at best a collateral damage. And she is paying an extremely high price for it. In fact Richard Yong and wife paid the heaviest of all. This prompts one to ask how big is Richard's role in the NKF to deserve such justice. Several of the board of directors of NKF were dealt with. Some spared. And they are still hunting the lone foreigner in India. They will catch him one day, hopefully. But India is such a big place. Richard Yong and his wife should have gone to China, an equally big place and probably they will still be hunting for them. How fair is natural justice?

My A Team

What is an A Team? I can handpick many A Teams according to my fancy. For one, I can pick from all the President or Overseas Scholars and I can even fill the whole Parliament, all 84 of them. Another version of my A Team is to pick the best of each profession, a few doctors, a few lawyers, a few architects, a few engineers, a few academics. There you are, another A Tea, all excellent in making money. Or to be more colourful, I can pick Jack Neo, Zoe Tay, Christopher Lee, Tao Li, Lam Chi Beng, Mamat Mardan, Agu, a few more sportsmen and women, and I will have an A Team of celebrities. All these great talents of the respective fields have one thing in common, talent in what they are doing. The question is where is their interest, where is their heart? No matter how great they are in their respective professions, do they bring along their hearts to serve the people, care for the people, put the people's welfare first? What is likely to happen is that a footballer may think of how to make football more profitable, an actor may want to make more money for the movie industry, or a top professionals may transfer his knowledge in making money to making more money from the people instead of for the people. What we need is an A Team with a heart, thinking of how to make life better for the people, not slamming them with a few hundred thousands and make the people pay for the rest of their lives, not increasing fees, fares to make more profits from the people. Where is such an A Team? I can't find it among my A Teams of super talents.

Myth 198 - Fear of collapse with new party

There is this myth that is circulating that the demise of the current ruling party will lead to the collapse of paradise as a country. Without the current ruling party, there will be uncertainties, fear and flight of capital and investments, and everything will simply breakdown. It is just like being under the curse of a wicked witch, overnight and we are gone. To believe in such heresy is being too simplistic, too naive and, very insulting to the intellect of the people. What is very likely for a new party to come to power is that there are enough able men and women to be elected to replace the current ruling party. And these able people need not be first class honours in everything. As long as they are able and decent people with sufficient knowledge/education, and a good heart to lead, they will be good enough. This country is not run by 82 politicians. It is run by an army of very able men and women in the civil service, stats boards and the uniformed groups. They will not simply disappear at the stroke of midnight. They will continue to serve whichever party that comes to power. To claim that the demise of the current ruling party is the end of everything is like saying that all these thousands of able men and women are of no significance, that they have no ability and no mind of their own. They could not function without the current ruling party. In reality, among these able men and women, many are even brighter than many of the politicians that we have. There are enough talents among them to form several cabinets, to fill the GRCs many times over. Paradise will survive with or without the current ruling party. In the 70s we used to claim that one block of 5 rm HDB flat has enough talents to run the country. Today, there are hundreds of blocks of 5 rm HDB flats, executive flats, and not counting the landed properties and private properties. Who say we have no talents? Is paradise in such a deplorable state, so fragile and vulnerable? What the hell have we been doing all these years to nurture and cultivate the best of our talents and then claim that we have no talents? Didn't we have been told that we have the best civil service, the best armed forces, the best of everything? But no political talents!

Fixing the affordability myth

HDB flats are affordable! You must believe that this is true. I swear that this is true. Yes, it is true under certain conditions. There is enough money in the CPF. If not enough, it can be made enough by increasing the amount available from the CPF. But this option is at its limit and can hardly get higher unless money from the Special Account and Medisave Account can also be used. Another way is to prolong the payment, from 20 years to 30 years to 50 years. And all these assume that the flat buyer is forever employed in all his 30 or 50 years of living. What Singaporeans should ask for is for a reduction in the amount of CPF that can be used for purchase of HDB flats. And the duration for repayment should also be shortened. This will allowed more money to be saved for retirement and no need for any CPF Life or fearing that there is not enough money left in the CPF after paying for an affordable HDB flat. Ok, some of you must have stood up and wanting to pounce on me for suggesting reduction of CPF and the duration for repayment. Let me explain. If the people has only $X in the CPF, or the repayment is shortened to say 10 or 15 years, his affordability must come down if not all of $X can be used. He can only afford to buy a flat that cost less than $X. Now you get what I mean? The policy of pricing HDB flat is based on affordability and not on the cost of building the flat. So if the buyer can afford to pay less, the price of HDB flats must come down accordingly. The problem today is that a buyer can use nearly all his CPF and can stretch to 30 or maybe 50 years. This will increase his affordability to buy more expensive flats. So HDB can price its flats accordingly and proclaim that HDB flats are affordable. Today's affordable is all your money in the CPF for 30 or 50 years. This is translated to mean you will not have much of a saving until you have paid off the affordable flat. Got it?

Living in the past

This post could also answer some of the questions by Grunt above. I have read Lee Wei Ling's article 'Medicine is not just a career, but a calling' in the Sunday Times. What came out clearly is that Wei Ling is one of those near extinct specimen that is still living today, out of phase and out of time. The world has changed so much that chivalry is dead, compassion and helping the needy are only for publicity, not intended to be a genuine calling from the heart. This is best manifested in the high profile and high budget shows to attract people to part with their money by the sheer power of the media and show biz personalities. it is all a show. Medicine and medical science have advanced in leaps and bounds. So has human values and greed. Today, if a medical professional, or for that matter any professional, who is not earning enough to live a flashy lifestyle, he is a failure. He may be sidelined by his peers or scorned at for living in the idealistic past. Everything must be priced as high as the client can afford to pay. It is called 'affordable'. There is no time to bother about the actual cost or how deep a hole the client has dug to bury himself. This kind of thinking can be seen in another article in the same paper on the price of new HDB flats by Joyce Teo. She quoted a Albert Lu, the MD of C&H Realty who said, 'for those seeking a new flat to live in, it would not really matter whey they buy. If they were to buy high and sell low, they would also be able to buy a replacement home at a low price.' If this kind of rationalisation is acceptable, then HDB should go ahead and price at any price it wants, after all the owner is going to stay there for good. So buying a 4rm at $500K or $300k does not make any difference if it is owner occupied. Really? What a clever professional view! Back to Medicine is a calling. Yes it is a calling. Money is calling. The frightening thing is that many of our national leaders answered the calling to serve the people and they came from professions where the calling of Money is stronger. Now we can understand why money is the key in policy making. And why affordable has taken on a new meaning.

Long term investment and potential long term losses

The losses incurred by our investments in foreign banks is now under public scrutiny and attacks. Many people are just very unhappy and are very concerned about the huge losses from public money. They have not related to how these losses could ultimately affect their savings in their CPF or to the overall financial well being of the country. If the losses are realised, and huge, it must come from somewhere. There must be a big hole somewhere waiting to be patched. The only comforting news is that it is long term investment, maybe 10 years, 20 years or 200 years. In the long term, everything will be alright. The stock prices will come back up, the property prices will come back up, and so will be our investments. These are the general expectations of how things will be from past experiences. What if the fundamentals have changed? What if the rot is of a different kind, HIV or a new mutant that is incurable? The problems with the banks we have invested, and in many of these foreign banks are of a different nature. They are not structural or cyclical. They are due to frauds and mismanagement. Many of these institutions are empty shells, being robbed over the years by their management but dressed up as respectable and sound financial institutions. The money they are asking for their rescue is mindblogging. If the trouble of these banks are cyclical or structural, it is only a matter of time before they return to their former health. The question now is that it may not happen at all, or it may take a few generations to rebuild them from scratch. The same analogy can be applied to our stock market. Under normal circumstances the stock prices will rebound and go back to where they were before. But would it be that way? To understand this we must know why the stock prices were high and why they became so low. If they are just structural or due to cyclical economic swings, then there are hopes that they will come back. What if the high and lows were due to different factors, systemic flaws, structural flaws? As examples, what if the listed companies were run by crooks that we have no control over them, or the business models and the accounting numbers were all fictitious? What if the high prices were due to in flow of foreign funds which have dried up? What if the foreign funds that were here were just for short term, to exploit the weaknesses of our system and run when they have made enough or being exposed, or the systemic flaws were patched up? Maybe instead of investing in bankrupt or empty shelled foreign institutions, it is better to plough the money into our own healthy and well regulated companies and stop throwing good money away at organisations that we have no control whatsoever. We need to build a healthy base at home and attract good quality money here, not the other way. In the long term, a rotten apple can never be returned to what it was before. Bad investments in rotten apples are simply bad investments, down the drain. Habis.

The new cyberspace contest

The coming General Election will pit the TOM with Cyberspace head on and the impact is going to be startling. GEs of the past were mostly a one sided affair with the ruling party monopolising all the means of communication with the electorate. It was only in the last GE that cyberspace appeared and shifted the ground slightly. This time round it is not only going to shift the ground, it is going to be a major player to compete for the attention of the voters. And knowing how hungry voters are for alternative news and views, many will be searching in cyberspace to hear what they want to hear. What will still be available to the ruling party? The old media, newspapers, radio and TV, and a few blogs which are the off shoots of TOM. These will be the providers of the official views. You can count them in two hands. On the other side of the fence there will be at least 50 to 100 blogs and forums contesting against the official views. Some will be neutral but many will just take the views that are least reported in TOM. And many of these blogs and their visitors will find such views more interesting and refreshing. Then there are the opposition party blogs and websites that will air whatever they want, policies, agenda, plans and rebuttals. The latter is going to be very important as this is generally denied from them. Without the ability to rebut, often, or as in the past, they will look inept or incoherent. Now they are able to explain away the stuff their attackers threw at them. TOM, radio and TVs will still have the bulk of the readership and will still have the upper hand. But the sprouting up of many alternative blogs and forums will put a big dent into their armoury. And if these alternative blogs could put up well argued positions, rational and logical views, credible views, to win over the voters, the results of the next GE is not going to be so predictable. It is going to be a contest of ideas in cyberspace and the opposition parties are going to have the upper hand in numbers with each blog/forum reaching out to smaller groups of visitors. The aggregate can be quite substantial. And so far there is no answer from the other side. It is like a huge conventional army staying its ground to fight a big battle while the enemies were all over engaging in small skirmishes and guerilla warfare. It is an asymmetric electoral warfare.

Living dangerously

PowerSeraya, the third and last power station is sold to YTL, a Malaysian conglomerate. Irrespective of whichever country buying it, should a strategic asset like the power stations be sold and be managed by any country other than the state? Should we sell our water treatment plants as well? Next, shall we sell out ports, Changi and PSA? Or shall we sell SIA and NOL? Where will the selling of strategic assets ends and when will the people stand up and ask, is this the right thing to do? Or are the people so complacent that nothing will worry them? I just don’t feel comfortable going down this road. Do we need the money so badly? Are these money put to better use than to hold on to these assets? Or are we trading our strategic assets for non strategic assets? Why are Singaporeans so indifferent to what is happening to the country and their future wellbeing? I have seen privatized security services hiring foreigners, including carrying of arms, to guard key installations and controlling movement of people. Does anyone think it is a good idea that foreigners should be allowed to carry arms in our own backyard? Having a contingent of Gurkhas is already an aberration. How far down shall we go down this road? We still have the police force and the armed forces in our control. When will they be filled by foreigners? Oh, I heard that the obviously foreign looking personnel in uniforms are PRs or new citizens. So, issuing them PRs and pink ICs immediately qualified these foreigners as one of us? We are living in a very dangerous world. Having people with unknown background guarding our buildings and installations is not a joking matter. Or maybe I am wrong.

Mukhriz Mahathir

My earlier reading of Mukhriz found him to be fairly neutral and rational, unlike his father. Since his intent to seek a political career, his latest proposal to abolish Chinese and Tamil Schools and the reasons given by him exposed what he really is, another Mahathir. The reasons for the Chinese and Tamil to want their own vernacular schools is not simply a case of retaining their ethnic identity but more a case of over coming the discrimination by Malay National Schools and govt policies that obstructed non Malay children from pursuing their education despite their ability to do so. The past practices of unfair quota and allocation of school places and university places have forced the two minorities to find alternative means to educate their children. That is why there is a Tengku Abdul Rahman University. If the govt could implement education policies fairly and provide equal opportunities for non Malay students to pursue their education, vernacular schools need not come about. With hindsight, the abolishing of vernacular schools is a big step backward for UMNO and it can expect the opposition to be strong no matter how they try to dress it up. The Chinese and Indian communities know that only they themselves can look after their own welfare and interests. Even when they are prepared to pay for their own schools, this was also denied by the past UMNO govt. Mukhriz is opening up an old wound.

FTs versus the Prodigal sons

Our govt is very gracious in granting citizenship and PRs to foreign talents. We are bringing them in by the tens of thousands annually. I am wondering why are there still Singaporeans who want to return but unable to because they skipped their NS at a time when they were young and innocent? Could we treat them a little better than pure foreigners and work out some arrangements that are acceptable to all parties concerned? I believe a born ex citizen who chooses to return is more valuable than a completely new one. It is like the return of the prodigal son. We have our rules and laws, but with so many supertalents working on it, a middle way can be found to bring back our prodigal sons insteand of hugging unknown foreigners.

TOC evolving itself

I am glad to see TOC evolving and transforming itself into a platform to air issues that are close to the hearts of Singaporeans. Other than just the cyberspace, the use of Hong Lim to speak on issues should allow TOC to reach out to more people. The latest agenda includes several new speakers and issues and there is an immediate audience in the form of the unhappy minibond victims. They should form the base for a crowd and other interested and concerned parties can also join in. Hopefully this will draw in more people to Hong Lim and the painful and unpleasant issues facing the people can be revived instead of being buried. There are many issues that TOC can keep talking to raise the consciousness and awarenss of the public. Do not let these issues be forgotten.

A sound legal defence

'An Australian journalist was sentenced to 10 months' jail by a Singapore court on Tuesday for drug offenses.... In his mitigation, Lloyd's lawyer Hamidul Haq told District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim that Lloyd did not consume drugs for "recreational purposes." Instead, he took them to "self-medicate" as he was suffering from chronic post -traumatic stress disorder. Haq said Lloyd had covered many tragedies such as the Bali bombings and the 2004 tsunami disaster. And Lloyd used the drugs to stay awake as he was constantly plagued by nightmares when he fell asleep.' The above was posted in YPAP forum by rajapisang. I have another interesting defence plea which I am not sure will be acceptable but worth trying. The next defendent of a drug case may want to try quoting the pain of losing his life savings in the minibond fiasco and having nightmares everytime he closes his eyes. Taking drug is the only way to escape the pain.

The changing good life

In the 50s and 60s, a good life is to be a chief clerk, stayed in a wooden bungalow with a big compound, husband worked and wife a housemaker, 5 and a half day week, and retired to smell the roses at 55. This is not too different from the Australians, a big sprawling home with a lot of space, dunno about single pay packet, 4 or 5 day week, and likely to retire at 50 to enjoy the rest of his years. But enjoyment starts every weekend which is likely to be a long weekend, either in the mountains or some beaches far away. And work stops at 5pm sharp everyday. The good life of Singaporeans today is to be a minister or top civil servant, (cannot aspire to be a president, that is bad), 5 day week, two ministers better still, and work till 85 or drop dead whichever is later. And Singaporeans are expected to love working and working. This is the better tomorrow for Singaporeans.

Our hotels are safe

We have the best men and most advanced surveillance equipment installed in all the hotels. And now we have the benefit of experience from the Mumbai attack to help us close the gaps. I think one of the things that all hotels will be doing is to vet their chefs for links to terrorist organisations. Their Indian counterparts would have provided them with vital information on what a potential terrorist would look like, the age, colour, height, passport etc etc. We should be on the look out for them. I only hope that there is an attack on key vital installations like airports, govt buildings, shopping centres etc so that we will have all the information we want. Other than chefs, I think terrorists may also seek jobs like security personnel of such installations. And if they do, they will have a whale of a time every night to inspect every aspect of the installation and to prepare for the attack. But I still have a problem. How could one detect a potential terrorist when his main task is to conceal all his background, links and intention to blow up the place? I think every terrorist will be a model employee where the boss will even think of marrying his daughter to him and let him take over the running of the organisation.

A home song 8

My beloved homeland I was only fifteen when I bade her goodbye Stepping out into the night, misty in my eyes But before the tears would flow, The sky opened up, and my head went low I will miss her, whenever I’m not here Spring was refreshing, with the smell of new Summer mesmerizing, with flowers of varied hues Then autumn, a little sadness of a year going by And winter came, glistening snow and wintry chills I still miss her, every moment of the year Sprawling fields of tulips and daffodils Snow capped mountains and low lying hills Mysterious forests and haunting tales Flowing rivers steeped with medieval adventures I still miss her, no place can hold so dear Cottages, castles and chapels filled my eyes Faces painted by the weather and climes of time They brought along, songs and wines, all so fine I feasted everyday, everywhere, losing myself in time I still miss her, my beloved homeland, the land I left behind Chorus I can hear her crying, ringing in my ears I can feel her heartbeat, thumping through my soul I can feel the tenderness of her warm embrace How I long to be in her arms, intoxicated in her loving graceI was only fifteen when I bade her goodbye Stepping out into the night, misty in my eyes But before the tears would flow, The sky opened up, and my head went low I will miss her, whenever I’m not here Spring was refreshing, with the smell of new Summer mesmerizing, with flowers of varied hues Then autumn, a little sadness of a year going by And winter came, glistening snow and wintry chills I still miss her, every moment of the year Sprawling fields of tulips and daffodils Snow capped mountains and low lying hills Mysterious forests and haunting tales Flowing rivers steeped with medieval adventures I still miss her, no place can hold so dear Cottages, castles and chapels filled my eyes Faces painted by the weather and climes of time They brought along, songs and wines, all so fine I feasted everyday, everywhere, losing myself in time I still miss her, my beloved homeland, the land I left behind Chorus I can hear her crying, ringing in my ears I can feel her heartbeat, thumping through my soul I can feel the tenderness of her warm embrace How I long to be in her arms, intoxicated in her loving grace The above is copyrighted by redbean

Ah Seng, Ahmad and Muthu wanted

With the threat of terrorist attacks getting closer and more dangerous, it is time to call on Ah Seng, Ahmad and Muthu to come forward to protect this country. They may not be any big time celebrities, not anyone that is going to be noticed or missed if they disappear from the surface of this globe, but they can play a vital role to protect the people here. Can we give some recognition to these nobodies? They can give us a peaceful sleep knowing that they are out there looking out for us. They are the people we can rely on in times like this.

Providing the people a good life

It is very difficult to define what is a good life for a Singaporean. There are the intangible, religious or immaterial aspects of living that some people will find more important than others. I know that this is very controversial but from the perspective of a govt, maybe a simpler definition base on material comfort could be a useful guide as a national objective. Spiritual or religious wellbeing is something that is beyond the govt. In my opinion, a govt that can provide the average Singaporean with an affordable 4 rm flat and a small car(OPC also ok) and live comfortably without having to make ends meet every month would have been very successful. A supervisor or executive is a good reference point to take as they form the base of the population, and it is not unreasonable to expect them to live at a decent standard of living. If at this level they can say that they have a good life, the higher income Singaporeans would have nothing to complain about and the lower income would not be too badly off except for the extreme end. If the govt can focus on such a standard of living for its people and design all the policies and cost around it, then Singaporeans can look forward to a better future, and more good years. If there is no such reference point, and cost is allowed to run away, and the bulk of the population falls to a level where everyone is struggling to make ends meet, then the govt has failed despite all the beautiful infrastructures and all the wealth accumulated by the nation. The 4 roomers are the average Singaporeans. Their well being is an indication of the well being of the country, of whether the govt is doing its job and implementing its policies correctly. Why did I feel that a simple objective like this has been forgotten and govt agencies, private or public, only think of how much money to make from the people instead of how well they are living?