The plague of big hospital bills

"Since Mindef's payments ceased in February 2007, his parents have chalked up outstanding hospital bills totalling $133,000 " - Today 13 Jan 2008. The parents of NSman Jeremy Tan Chia Whee have taken Mindef to court to pay for his medical bill. Jeremy was found unconscious in camp and the issue is whether his injury was incurred while in service or not in service. Under normal circumstances the issue could have been settled long ago by his parents IF the medical fee has not ballooned to this sum. This is the new plague of our first class medical services. The price tag is also first class. Sure, you want first class you must be able to pay for it. Maybe it is time the govt should ask the people if they want first class and whether they can afford to pay for it. Even with mean testing in place, many people would still not be able to pay this kind of ridiculous fees. Progress and compassion are very expensive things to pay for.

Improved healthcare for subsidised patients

'....I do know many private specialists who have big hearts ( and I am proud to call them "friend" )and who treat poorer patients at reduced rates ( or even waive charges). Sometimes we put on leotards and become Robin Hoods. We in private practice, often try to find ways to beat the Private hospital system in order to reduce patients' charges. The more obvious means include pleading with the hospital for discounts ( for patients) or even going to cheaper hospitals. Other ways cannot be divulged publicly.....' The above is an extract from Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan's blog, nofearsingapore.blogspot.com. He has written an appeal in the media's forum and copied to MOH to suggest on cost reduction and improvement in medical practice. If we have more medical professionals to step out to stamp this ridiculous and incessant rise in medical fees, they will definitely make an impact. For a start, private hospitals can price some services or ward charges lower than govt hospitals to show that it can be done. This will definitely rattle the conventional wisdom that medical cost must always go up. A case in point is Perfect Dental Clinic in Ghim Moh. I believe its charges are very competitive and should be a role model for all dental clinics to emulate. If he can charge at those competitive rates, why can't other dental clinics do so with the same facilities and qualifications for the same treatment? Private hospitals should take the lead to cut cost and blow its trumpets loudly. This is a social service and a social cause that they can together do for the average citizens.

Smiles in English signboards

Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR. On the main road to Mombassa, leaving Nairobi: TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE. On a poster at Kencom: ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP. In a cemetery: PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES. Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations: GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED. In a Tokyo bar: SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS. Hotel, Yugoslavia: THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID. Hotel, Japan: YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID. In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY. Hotel, Zurich: BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. A laundry in Rome: LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Citi and Morgan Stanley merging brokerages

The two giants are merging their operations in the face of the financial meltdown. The brokerages and their staff will have to shrink in a shrinking business. How would this affect the local brokerages? Will our brokerages shrink as well given the shrinking business in stock trading? Stockbroking, buying and selling of properties, insurances are the last few professions that allow people who can't find employments or do not want to be employees to be self employed. Of course there is taxi driving but this is a very difficult trade with the recession hitting the economy. When these three professions start to retrench, more will be out looking for jobs. The last frontier is to start your own business as entrepreneurs, provided you have a few hundred thousands of spare cash to play with. It is no longer possible to sell kueh and goreng pisangs along the corridors. It is against the law. But one can take the risk of selling pirated VCDs if one does not mind being handcuffed when caught. The loanshark business is still thriving and they need more midnight graffiti painters. Maybe the casinos can provide more jobs for those who are not bound by their religious and moral righteousness. For a start, Boon Wan has offered several thousand jobs in the medical industry. Just go for retraining.

Eerie silence in the world of elite

Are there any talents, thinkers and concerned individuals in the world of elite? Obviously there are plentiful. Do they have a view or any view on how our country and society is progressing and the direction we are heading? I think they must have. Do they agree with all the policies and what is happening? I think they do. That is why there is a total silence coming out from that world. Nothing will affect them or move them to say something. They are just too comfortable and too entrenched in their own world of luxury that nothing else is important to them. How long will this eerie silence last?

When the wheel of fortune stopped turning

2008 ended with the wheel of fortune stopped turning. The first financial crisis that hit the people was the minibond. The bigger financial crisis hitting the people without much fanfare was the collapse of stock prices. The losses were in hundreds of billions. Came 2009, the year started with mean testing. What does it mean? The first answer probably is the torching incident. Now the country is staring at a bigger crisis, recession and job losses, unemployment, defaults in paying mortgages. We are only in the second week of the new year. What more lie in store for us and how bad could things be?

The Seng Han Thong Incident

With sentiments and emotions calming down, lets take a second look at the Seng Han Thong Incident and the reactions in the media. The main media's reaction was quite expected, shock and awe and condemnation. The reaction in cycberspace was distinctively different. The immediate response to the incident showed a lack of sympathy, more of a it was coming and to be expected. Some went to the extent of rooting for it, that it was deserving. There was a kind of release of anger and frustration, not necessarily to Seng Han Thong in particular but to the govt as a whole. The mood in several of the forums were very negative. Here we had an MP being set on fire and these people were taking it in their stride, like a protest against the govt. This is definitely an unhealthy development and would set the party thinking why? The oldies were the party's strongest supporters all these years. The violent act was conducted by an oldie. The reaction in cyberspace came from a bigger spectrum, from oldies to the youngies. Could this be a little indication of bottled up feelings that need an expression and the incident was just it? Could more outlets for kpkb and letting off steam help to release the pressure along the way leading to less explosive actions? Suppressing expression of anger and frustration could only keep the feelings under the lid. When the heat gets too high, suppressing them will do more harm. Maybe the new year angpow could soothe some nerves and let the incident pass quickly as another unfortunate incident, to be forgotten. It was a shocking incident that was totally unexpected in a first world country. Perhaps many of the people are still of the third world with their world habits and mentality.

MP set on fire

This is the headline news in the papers. Seng Han Tong, and MP, was set on fire by a disgrunted 70 year man who is also a patient at the mental hospital. This kind of things is unheard of in our history. The background of the attacker suggests that this is an isolated case and should not be seen as an increase in social violence. I believe our MPs and ministers would still be able to walk the streets without being harm. Violence has not been in our culture, or political violence has not been a part of our lives since the 1950s. Poor bugger. He is hurt very badly for public service.

How useful is Talking point?

Last week CNA put up many reminders on the programme Talking Point to be aired last night at 10.20pm. The topic to be discussed was the AIMS' recommendations and the govt's responses to them. It must be an important event for CNA to keep reminding the viewers about it. I was reminded to tune in. There were two co hosts, a lady whose name just slipped out of my amnesia prone memory, and PN Balji. This gave the programme some recognition. You don't put in two hosts to tackle a programme unless it is worth the while. Two invited guests, Cheong Yip Seng, Chairman of AIMS and Gerald Giam of TOC were also present. The four should give a meaningful treatment on the important AIMS paper. After all it was commissioned by the govt. The whole programme last not more than 10 mins. In fact 8 minutes. How could 8 minutes do any justice to an important issues with 4 participants. Each could only have 2 minutes if the time is distributed evenly. Balji followed up with an article this morning in Today. His message is this, 'By now, the likes of Mr Giam should have known how this Govt behaves and operates. It cannot appear to be pressured to make changes; it will change at its own pace and comfort.' This is very plainly put by Balji. Don't expect too much. The mountain does not come to Mohammed. Bloggers are not significant bodies and must to go the mountain.

Running out of ideas

Malaysia is a one idea country. They only know how to build roads and bridges to collect tolls. Every other thing that they tried was a wash out. So they will keep on thinking of building bridges everywhere, the more the better. Existing bridges or connectors should be demolished to justify building new ones. They are going to build bridges to Sumatra, maybe Vietnam as well. The Americans are also running out of ideas. Since the computer chip revolution, the laptops and handphones, there is nothing new in the pipeline that can create so much mass appeal. They tried financing products but turned out to be the biggest fraud in history. Paradise too is running out of ideas. Other than raising fees and charges, what else could it come out with? The latest twist is recycling. They have done recycling of old buildings by demolishing them and building new ones. Now they are recycling jobs and old bodies. Old jobs are recycled with new fanciful names, everyone is a president. We have more presidents than the countries in the UN. Now the old hags are being recycled. The Dad’s Army in civilian clothes, the grandpas and grandmas are to work again. But this is a bit tricky. The parts are getting old through wear and tear. Practically every part and organ need to be changed. They can’t do it like they did to old buildings. They can’t scrap them like cars. How to make them work like new, strong and nimble, see and hear clearly, and think and do as being told? Until a new drug is developed to alter all the cells into young cells and not ageing cells, it is going to be difficult. Genetically modified cells may be a starting point. They can do it to plants, definitely possible with human beans In the meantime recycle as best possible, with redesigning of jobs to cater for slow and fumbling hands and cloudy minds, failing eye sights and weak limbs. Recycling worn out bodies is going to be big business in paradise

Resigned still caught and answerable

The Satyam bosses had resigned after the fraud was disclosed. But India is not the US or paradise where one can simply pat his backside and resign when wrong doings are discovered. Rubin, the advisor of Citigroup has also resigned. For the moment, many of the failed American financial institutions were due to mismanagement or honest mistakes, so it is difficult to find faults with the directors and top management. In Satyam case, it is fraud, like Madoff, and they have been arrested by the India authority. Madoff is still walking around happily like a free man. There must be a higher expectation of accountability for paid executives whether as top management or board of directors. Walking away by resigning is too easy a way out from accountability. If people are brave enough to take compensation from organisations they must be brave enough to answer for the mess created during their watches. Honourable people must do what is honourable.

How much must be earned in a life time

How much must be earned in a life time to live in paradise? Take an average 4 roomer two kids family. In his life time he must spend these money other than the normal living expenses. His flat will cost him $500k or more when fully paid up. His Medisave that he cannot touch will be at least $30k. His two kids, if lucky enough to get into university locally, total cost for each upon graduation would easily be $300k. GST at 7% for a $4k monthly expenditure for 50 years will come to $148k. S&C at average $50 pm for 50 years will be $30k. And if he owns a small car, changing one every 10 years, or 5 cars in his lifetime, he will spend at least $300k at $60k each. The above adds up to a cool $1.6m. Even without owning a car, the amount is $1.3m. This he must have in addition to what he needs to live daily. At a simple $3k pm for 50 years it will add another $1.8m to his total budget. So an average Singaporean family will spend $3.4m in their life time. A very conservative number. And he could count himself lucky if he does not need to be hospitalised. One entry could empty his Medisave or more. The cost will go up for those who bought bigger houses and cars. A job and a steady income is crucial to keep an average Singaporean alive. it is amazing that we could go on for so long and still aspiring to be more prosperous and to pay more for our standard of living. Singaporeans born today would easily need double or triple that amount to get by. Would the system be able to pay them that kind of money or would Singaporeans still command that kind of premium in a competitive world market of the future? When I look at our Ah Beng, Ahmad and Muthu, and their counterparts in other countries, they are not much different. And when they put out their best to compete with us, either their income will go up or ours will go down. A new level will be found. Would ours still defy the odds and move up or will the law of diminishing returns drag us down?

Frugality by choice

To live frugally by choice and not by circumstances is a very pleasant concept. It is like people desiring to work for life, by choice and and not by circumstances, and even with the choice of what they want to do, not to become cleaners or dish washers. To live frugally is like being thrifty, to spend on when there is a need to, no extravagance, is an age old virtue. Individually, it is a good value to live by. At the national level, it is too a good policy to preach and to practise, or maybe not. The contradiction between preaching something and doing the reverse is quite obvious to many. While on the one hand people suddenly got enlightened that there is goodness in frugal living, there are people and even the govt, exhorting and extorting the people to spend. Our govt's policies have never been about frugality. Think COE and car scrapping. Even in times like this, Chok Tong is asking people to spend away on little comforts. Boon Wan has just introduced mean testing to make sure that people pay according to how much they have and not what they want. Ask Raymond about ERPs and transport fares and he will tell you it still must go up, but very affordable. Then Mah Bow Tan just whacked the home buyers by $200k increase in the Pinnacles. Who else, or which ministry is going to raise their fees or rentals? Can the people afford to be frugal? Even if they want to, the policies of ever increasing fees will make sure that they don't. The wheel of our economic machinery must go on running and must be fed by the people's money to keep it going. Otherwise it will grind to a halt like the ferry wheel. And a big rescue operation will have to be mounted. The economy is built on a model of growth. Without growth means recession and depression. The rich can romanticise on being frugal and live happily ever after. The poor at best is a way of life. The country cannot exist on a frugal diet. The country demands that the people must spend and spend to keep up the image of growth and prosperity. So, would the people be allowed to be frugal?

Child labour is bad

Little children working to earn a few dollars is bad. Their feeble limbs and frail bodies would not take the rough and tough of labour in the factories and sweat shops. Their ignorance will expose them to dangerous situations which they would not know how to avoid. How about the frail bodies of the aged? Is aged labour good or bad? Their frail bodies, lack of nimbleness and dexterity, slow in responding to danger, will put them in unnecessary risks and difficult situations. We need to protect the young from exploitation and unfavourable working conditions. Do we need to protect the old hags? I think exploitation of old labour is just as bad and should not be encouraged. Why are we so happy about getting the old hags to work till they die and not allowing the children to work till they die? We feel sorry to see children put to work. Do we feel sorry to see old hags toiling in their twilight years? Why are grandpa and grandma working?

Boon Yang's leeway on political films

The easing of ban on political films by Boon Yang is another step towards more liberalisation of media and film broadcast in the otherwise media phobic state. Thanks to AIMS and the strong push by Cheong Yip Seng for a freer and bigger space for social and political discussion and dissemination of news and views. The concerns by the govt are well understood by the public through its obsessive regulations and articulations over the years. The govt has also come to understand the revolution of information technology and its futility to continue its vice like grip on critics and alternative views. It has also reluctantly come to terms with a highly educated citizenry that is not going to take this control forever. And perhaps it has concluded that it is time to release the build up pressure now rather than later. To continue to do so in an environment where cyberspace is there to air the misgivings, cynicism and displeasure will only worsen the divide between truth and official truth to a level of incredibility. Hail the new leeway towards more media freedom in cyberspace and alternative means of expression. The liberalisation and more engagement between the new media and old media will pave the way for more healthy discussions on social and political issues affecting the people. It will lead to a buzz that has long been desired but absence for obvious reasons. Now is to wait and see if the buzz will go on buzzing.

Save Asia from child labour

Asia must act to prevent growth in child labour: expert 12 hours ago SINGAPORE (AFP) — Asia must act quickly to prevent millions of children dropping out of school to go to work as the global economic crisis worsens, a rights expert has warned. June Kane, an independent adviser to the United Nations and national governments on child rights, told AFP the crisis was a chance for authorities in the region to tackle child labour by giving parents incentives to keep minors in education. But she warned that authorities in Asia -- the biggest employer of the world's estimated 218 million child workers -- must act now to provide help to parents who might otherwise be forced to send their children out to work.... I happen to see the above posted in the TOC. It is a noble cause to push for, to help the children of poor countries and poor families from being made to earn a living at a tender age when they should be in school. But this is well said than done. Many are staring at poverty in their faces and helping out to earn a living is their way of getting an education in life. The country is poor and so are the parents. I was a child labour before. There were child labours in Singapore at one time. At one time many of our womenfolks were maids too. And getting a job as a labourer in the construction site was good jobs and good money. We have progressed over the years. We cannot mismanage and slip back to those days when everyone was poor. When aspirations of parents were for their children to become clerks. Even before I was in primary school, I was helping my mother in a godown, sorting coffee beans, picking out the debris and rotten seeds and repack them. The work was simple. Just sat on a large piece of mat, coffee seeds poured into the centre of the mat and the whole family sat around it, picking seed by seed, to earn a few cents a day. Quite comfortable actually. No sweat and not under the sun. No torture or abuses. Just working. And many parents were very happy when their wards failed the PSLE. They could start work earlier, working as kopi kia or walking the streets knocking on a piece of bamboo, kock kick kock, to peddle bak chor mee. It was a phase of our development and our social history.

Keep seniors at work longer

Just a few years back, not very long ago actually, there was this 40ish CEO whose message was to get rid of the oldies and replace them with all the beautiful and fresh recruits. I was wondering where did he got this cock idea from? Creating jobs, getting people employed is a major issue and problem in any country. Only imbeciles will think of destroying jobs and getting rid of employees purely because of age. Now working to death is the new mantra. Personally if I can afford it I will stop work and enjoy my life the way I want it. There are many great things to do in life than just working to keep once self fed, just to carry on living. Unfortunately many people are caught it this trap, to work to be alive, nothing more, nothing less.

Satyam, the truth is out

The doctoring of corporate accounts has appeared to be a common practice among big corporations across the globe, from America to Europe and Asia. I could understand how it could be done over the years without being discovered in backward countries without the due process of auditing. But it should not be whether renowned international auditors are engaged to do the job. Under the western model of corporate governance, the auditors play a very big role in checking the accounts of public listed organisations, and are handsomely rewarded for this task. Apparently due diligence in this role is much to be desired given the prevalence of this malpractice. In fact it is a text book fraud that all auditors must know and look out for. This is the first time that the regulators are thinking of looking at the role of the auditors to see if they are culpable to the misdeeds, whether through negligence or even being accomplice to the crime. More auditors must be hanged to give notice to the importance of their role in preventing corporate frauds. But I still remember that it was said some where that it was not their role to discover corporate frauds. So their role must be simply going through the motion of checking and submit a report to confirm checks have been carried out, without any responsibility. Other than the independent directors, the next level and most effective defence against corporate frauds must be the auditors. And they are paid to do the job. They are professionals.

Would NWC bark up the same old tree?

The high power NWC is again tasked to review the wages of workers, this time when the economy is in a tail spin. In good times, it is in a happier position to quarrel about how much increases to give to the workers. In bad times, it is going to decide how much to cut or not to give to the workers. Hard times mean tough times for the workers, the convenient whipping boy. The workers is always at the fore front when cost cutting is needed. They either lose their jobs, got their salaries cut, or lose their increments. This is the standard recipe with its standard recommendations. Didn't we know that labour cost is only one small part of the whole equation of operating cost? Would the NWC do a bit more and look into areas like land cost, rental cost, govt service cost and other cost before slicing through the workers pay packet for once? And don't forget about top management cost. Any further cuts or lowering of increments are going to hit the workers real hard. All the other costs are going up and we are expecting the workers to bite the bullet and tighten their belts further. Are we demanding too much from the workers? This single perspective approach to tackling the operating cost problem has to be addressed differently. The cost of other services and goods must be brought down if the workers are to survive this crisis with further restraints on their wages. 80% of the workforce will fall into this trap of rising cost of living and lower income. We need a more enlighten NWC to do something differently instead of just going through the motion like yesteryears.

NWC's unenviable task

The NWC will have to make its recommendations on wages soon. This time it is very likely on how to cut wages or reduce wage increases. Bet with you the people who is going to get the wage cut or wage freeze will be the workers. We will likely see how the use of absolute sum and percentages at its best. Some will be affected by a fixed sum and some by percentages to the benefits of some and disadvantages of others. The message is likely to be belt tightening to save jobs.