Don't be stupid

'We have achieved progress with our bilingual education. It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.' Chee Hong Tat, Principal Private Secretary to the MM. I cannot agree more with this statement. The romancing of ethnic, parochial and sectoral emotions and sentiments must not become a national preoccupation. Go on and cultivate, preserve and enjoy your personal romance with whatever holds dear to one's heart. But pushing such agenda is, yes, STUPID. It is stupid, it is stupid. Primordial instinct cannot be given too much of a free play and become a national agenda. The above quote is in the forum page of ST today. I am not sure if the stupid comment was Chee Hong Tat's comment or MM's comment. It is his letter, so it must be his. But the nuances and the familiarity of the stupid comment and its origin is well known. I thought only in cyberspace that such liberal use of the word stupid and expletives are common. I am glad that the main media is also feeling more free to express stronger feelings on issues. I am also glad that a PPS is also comfortable to use such terms in public statements.

Affordability Key to HDB flats

Ignatius Lourdesamy is working overtime to reply to the numerous questioning of HDB pricing of its flats. So far HDB has been explaining that the flats are all affordable as there is a range of flats to fit every pocket. The issue is why are the people not accepting this explanation and why are the people so unhappy with HDB? There seems to be a big gap of difference or perception between the two parties. In a way HDB is right. Just buy within your means. Just work out on 21% of your income and go for the flats that one can afford. The buyers must be wrong here. If they cannot afford a bigger flat, they must buy a smaller one. The other issue which many are still having a big doubt over their heads is with respect to the costing of the flats. First is the commercial interest and market pricing policy of HDB. This must have cheesed off a lot of the buyers. The second point is the costing. How did HDB work out their costs? The most important part of this puzzle is the land cost. I don't think anyone is going to agree with the way HDB cost their land. And that may be the reason why this is often spoken but no details will be given. Then there are the other costs which the people will be curious to know. HDB is a public housing organisation to build flats for the people. It is not a commercial or private enterprise no matter what it calls itself. It has a public responsibility to serve the interest of the people for the privilege position it is in. At the rate it is going, the animosity towards HDB will keep growing when its priorities do not match the perception and interest of the people it is supposed to be serving.

What I would call a badly managed and irresponsible stock market

Financial institutions across the world are licking their wounds and there were many red faces around. One exception is the stock markets. Despite the meltdown, no one is complaining, it seems, and the plight of the investors losing their fortunes were left untold. Many stock markets are victims of the financial tsunami. They cannot be sheltered from the onslaught. But many could have fared better while some actually dealt themselves in with many bad decisions. Some of the things I dread are as follows. 1. Reckless and rapid flooding of the market with IPOs. 2. Lack of control over dubious corporations. 3. Allowing the market to be manipulated or cornered by syndicates. 4. Allowing short selling in an imperfect market. 5. Hands off to irresponsible corporations making cash calls when liquidity is tight. 6. Allowing the erosion of values of stocks when some intervention is necessary. 7. Continue to multiply market instruments through more derivatives. 8. Deregulations when regulations is seriously wanting. These are some of my preliminary thoughts.

GIC lost 25% on paper

The media quoted LKY saying that GIC's portfolio fell 25% from its peak and was managing only $150b. For the 25% fall, I will strongly recommend that GIC take out a couple of billions to reward the staff for such a scintillating performance. It has greatly outperformed the market indices which fell about 40%. On the second point of $150b, I am very puzzled. Why was it reported in so many media reports that GIC was managing something like $550b? This is not a 10 or 20% error. It was inflated by almost 4 times what GIC has. Now, which is the real number? No one should question LKY as he is the GIC Chairman and it was like words from the horse's mouth. Some may wonder how come GIC is managing a portfolio that much smaller than Temasek. But fact is fact. Would the reputable and highly reliable media do some ground work to confirm the facts?

Riding a fast train or a Titanic

LKY had a dialogue with the media organised by Thomson Reuter yesterday. His mind was still as lucid as ever though his body may not be willing. Picturing him climbing the steps to a rally platform or walking the ground is not going to be easy. The question is whether he still wants to be in charge. Some may challenge this proposition, that he is no longer in charge and the baton has long been passed to Chok Tong, and now Hsien Loong. Come again? What would one make out of a man who would jump out from his grave if he senses something is wrong and say that he is not in charge? Then again, with so many hitches and slips and things going badly wrong, LKY is still very cool, as if nothing has gone wrong. Two possibilities. Either nothing is wrong or he doesn't think that they were wrong. If nothing is wrong, he does not need to do anything. If he does not think they were wrong, even if they were seriously wrong, then he still does not need to do anything. So what is happening? Are we like the rich and famous making merry inside a Titanic, having full trust in the ship, the captain and his crew, unknowing of the giant iceberg and rough sea outside, in the dark? Maybe the Titanic is not a good example. We could be in a fast train, rushing at full speed ahead, with clear sky, maybe a bit hazy at times, and under talented drivers. Is there a cliff ahead that the train will fall over? No, all clear ahead. We have control. LKY said he did not see a need for a snap election now. If he is in charge, that's it. If he is not, a snap election there will be. Who is in charge ultimately, or maybe the election is just an issue that the one in charge can step aside but keep an eye on it from the sideline. Will LKY never be in charge?

Rainbows and omens

The sighting of rainbows is now arousing a lot of interests. Every sighting keeps people guessing, is it a good sign or a bad sign? The lightning strike on the merlion is definitely a bad sign. It caused damages and money to repair. And some tourists may not have the chance to take pictures with the merlion in the background. It may be a disappointment in their holidays here. Rainbows are a different kind of things. They don't hurt or harm anyone. Quite a pretty sight actually. And they appear often after a downpour, washing away all the bad stuff in the air and on the ground. It gives the impression of a new begining, leaving the unhappy past behind. A better and promising tomorrow awaiting. That's what a rainbow says.

The next General Election

There have been all kinds of speculation of a snap election. The only thing that got snapped was the merlion. What else will be snapped? Another interesting question that is being raised is the possibility of LKY contesting for another term. How preposterous to suggest that he is too old and should resign. At 85, he has done everything, he should be singing My Way in the karaoke clubs. Now, would the electorate still think that it is worthy and deserving to vote an octogenarian to be an MP? I think everyone will have his way of looking at this queer possibility. There are many reasons for him to stay in politics, and many reasons for him to quit. Should the decision be made by him or should it be a decision to be made by the party, or by the people? The story will not have a pleasant ending should he be voted out by the people. Would he consider leaving a legacy as a never defeated MP? Or would he dally with the possibility of a bridge too far?

Who are the real fools, clowns and traitors?

The silly Chinese were at it again, biting their own backside. In an article by ST's China correspondence Sim Yin Chi, titled 'Not all Chinese backed patriotic buyer', he started his article with words like, Rogue, Conman, Fool, Clown and Traitor, to call Cai Mingcao. Cai Mingcao was depicted as an obnoxious character after his sabotage of the Christie's auction of looted Chinese treasures. Fortunately not all Chinese were against him. Actually only a minority of 22% in a survey. But the way the article was written, it was as if all the Chinese were attacking Cai. I fully endorse and support his action against the auction. When there is no way to obtain justice, when there is a miscarriage of justice by a court that is supposed to deliver justice, what else should the victim do? And what else did the Chinese people say about the French court? Is there any Asian correspondence worth his salt to condemn the French injustice? No, they are just another bunch of stupid Asians who accepted the abuse and injustice of the West , the colonisation, as a right. They deserve to be treated as second class, as fools, to be ruled by the West. Who then are the real fools, clowns and traitors?

Which is a better option?

GIC swop its US$6.88b prefered shares(4% if converted) to 11% ordinary shares of Citibank. At the same time it also forgo a fixed income of 7% returns for a 1c dividend that is not guaranteed. And to make matter worst, the price of Citibank immediately fell from the conversion price of US$3.25 to US$1.50, more than half the value of the prefered shares. And that is not the end of the story. Last night Citibank price fell to US$120, wiping off another 20% of its value. So technically it now has a value of $2.54b. This is only 37% of the US$6.88b. Why would GIC want to do that? Is the additional 7% of Citibank shares that much better than the fixed income of 7% which was estimated at US$480m annually? Or was there unreasonable reasons or pressure for GIC to agree to the conversion? The only way to look at this as a good move is long term. In the the long run, if Citibank price goes up, we will be getting 7% more of its worth. For the immediate, it is a frightening decision. The paper loss over two days is US$4.33b!

Community hospitals up fees

By Amresh Gunasingham on 2 Feb 09 THREE of the largest community hospitals here have raised their prices sharply, and a fourth is set to follow suit. Soaring costs of food, medical supplies and qualified staff had forced them to so, they told The Straits Times. Revised ward charges for the cheapest beds have increased by at least $50. Some patients will end up paying $3,900 - almost double the previous charges - for a typical month-long stay in C-class wards. The above is quoted from ST Online. World class hospitals will end up with world class cost and world class fees. That is basic economics. But we tend to forget if the not world class patients can afford world class fees or need to be warded in world class hospitals. Also, can a middle world class hospital be adequate for not world class patients but charging not world class fees?

Clever Idea!

A Choo Kay Wee wrote to the ST suggesting that the damage by lightning on the merlion be left as it is. His reason is that it would create a lot of interests and people may just want to see it. But his brilliant idea is to charge a fee for people wanting to see the broken head. Now that is simple ingenious. A uniquely Singaporean way to make money at all opportunities. I would suggest to include stories on the significance of the lightining bolt and lightning strike and engraved theme on a plague to be attached to the merlion. That would be a wonderful story.

3 suing HSBC for forex losses

Three foreign investors are suing HSBC for losses in trading forex. They claimed that the banks did not allow them to use certain trading strategies which resulted in the loss. This is a case of clients wanting to use their own strategies but not allowed to. What about cases where stock exchanges allowed unfair strategies or trading practices eg computer trading, cornering the market, short selling, etc to make profits against small investors? Would there be a day when investors will stand up to sue stock exchanges for allowing unfair trading practices to go on at their disadvantage? Is there a moral and legal ground for stock exchanges to ensure that trading practices are fair and equal to all parties? I know that cornering a stock is illegal. To what extent is a situation that makes a stock being cornered? Is a stock cornered when a few parties work in collusion to drive up or down its price and incurring losses to the innocent, ignorant small investors? There must be moral responsibility, justice and fair play in all stock exchanges to ensure that all parties have a fair chance to trade, to win and to lose in the market.

Special Account is for retirement

Farah Abdul Rahim, Director, Corporate Communications, MOM, replied to a Rick Poon who wanted CPF Special Account to be used for education loan. She explained that the Special Account is meant for retirement purposes. Isn't the whole CPF savings meant for retirement purposes? The reality is that it was, but not now. With so many agencies eyeing the CPF savings, and planning their products and services to be paid by CPF money, there is really not much left for retirement. The Ordinary Account will probably be emptied to pay for affordable HDB flats. The more there is in the Ordinary Account, the more affordable will be HDB flats. The Medisave Account will be locked up for that day that may not come. Shouldn't it be time to start another CPF savings scheme truly just for retirement? We have, in the midst of getting to the CPF money, forgot that these are hard earned savings for retirement. Now public policy of housing prices will use the savings in the CPF as a basis to compute affordability. As long as there is money there, the price will match it. Am I wrong? Then we woke up one morning in horror. Why is there not enough money in the CPF for retirement? Why, when we set aside as much as 40% to 50% at one time, and at any time more than 30% of our income into CPF? And still not enough!

MBAs needing help?

Two British dons here to give suggestions to MBA graduates on what they can do in this recession. My eye balls are rolling. Shouldn't these highly qualified and trained professionals be looking after themselves or teaching the more lowly educated populations on what to do? The thought that they are lost and needed help or guidance really baffles me. Dum da da dum dum, dum dum.

How ominous!

It was the lightning bolt. Now the merlion was caged. This latter piece is on the front page of ST today. How ominous!

Where to Ho Ching?

This has been the number one question in many people's mind. There were all kinds of serious and cheeky suggestions, from the Presidency to being a housewife. Let me try another proposition. With the kind of talent and connection, it will be a big waste if Ho Ching makes herself redundant. She still has many good years to come and she can still contribute to the country and the stable of govt link companies. It is far better to get someone who knows to do the job than to hunt around or fish around for another genius to come by. Ho Ching should stay in Temasek and continue with what she is or was doing. Why? After going through all the crisis she must be that much wiser as to the risks involved in managing and investing huge sums of money. And Who else has the privilege of a $58b lesson? Tan Yong Soon only had a $50k lesson in France. I still feel that with such a costly lesson that is difficult to come by, she is even more qualified to do the job. Stay on Ho Ching. No one is more qualified than her to do that job. Of course many of you will disagree. But that's how I see it.

Merlion struck by lightning bolt

"Eyewitness Ms Rina Toh, 17, a barista at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at One Fullerton, said: 'I saw a bright Z-shaped lightning bolt, and it was a lot bigger than usual.' " The above is quote from ST online. Our national icon struck on the head by lightning yesterday. And a piece of the head fell to the ground. Must check with the gods what this sign means.

Notable quotes by Chok Tong

'Find ways to honour seniors' Goh Chok Tong Chok Tong said, "It is timely for us to reflect on how to adapt and adjust to this 'silver tsunami'. How we should relate to the elderly, leverage on their talents and life experiences and honour them for their contributions." He also commented about the trend for children to abandon their parents in nursing homes. He warned that how we treat our old today will set the tone for how we will be treated when our time comes. Yes, what kind of society are we? Compare what Chok Tong said and what Boon Wan has suggested, building cheaper nursing homes in JB and neighbouring countries, we get a different measure of the speakers. What Chok Tong said is like what the Chinese saying, 'ren jiang de hua', or the human lingo. Saying things that reflect human values or being human. There is nothing wrong with Boon Wan's idea. Those are very practical, reasonable, cost effective measures for people who have money not enough. But such things can be done, discreetly, and not spoken with a loud hailer. The things that Chok Tong said above will be received quite kindly and agreeable to most people. In Boon Wan's case, ouch, it hits the raw nerve of humanity, of emotions and feelings. These are the attributes that make human beans human. Devoid of them, down playing them, will turn us closer to being inhuman, inanimate. Use and throw away mentality. Now, would there be criticism or anger to what Chok Tong has said? They will be, depending on which angle one is looking at it. Some may split hairs, question his intent and interest. But generally, these are things that politicians should be saying, national leaders should be saying.

A walk thru Chinatown

With my new blog, Singapore Orchids, I have replaced the orchids in this blog with a new series on Chinatown. Orchid lovers and Jaunty can view the orchids in the link to Singapore Orchids. Cheers.

All the way, DBS-Citibank!

Just as I raised my hope for a 7% dividend, it fell flat in my face. And my estimate was way way off. The 7% would have given a return of US$482m pa. GIC could have the money back in no time. Now it is all gone. But don't worry, there is a better and more promising deal. The conversion price which was US$26.35 was watered down to US$3.25 and the conversion to ordinary shares will give GIC an 11% stake in Citibank, the second largest shareholder next to the US govt. And there are more promises along the way. If the market recovers and Citi's price shot up, we could reap much higher returns. If the market plunges and Citi became insolvent or be nationalised, gone with the wind. But the second 'IF' is only a big If. No need to worry about that. In the long term everything will be fine. Now the more juicy part. If our US$6.88b can give us 11% stake in Citibank, it means that the whole bank can be had for no more than US$70b. This is definitely very affordable. Shouldn't GIC launch a general take over of Citibank and merge it with DBS to become an international giant bank? And another piece of good news. There are so many good news and things are looking much rosier. What's that? Oh, Citibank's share price fell to US$1.55. This simply means we could have the bank for less than US$35b. And with already 11% in our hands, US$30b should do the trick. I don't think the US govt will object if we let Chip Goodyear to negotiate the deal. The US govt must be more comfortable with Goodyear in charge. Wow, I think we have all these planned in advance. Great foresight and pro active thinking and decision making. We must have see all these coming. Go for it GIC! Take Citibank under our wings, but make sure the top management are Singaporeans. The Americans can be co opted as advisers. I will definitely bank with DBS Citibank.