Waiting for Pipe Piper to blow his tune

The Shanghai and Tokyo stock markets have started to stabilise and turned around. Australia has extended its curb on shortselling till the end of May. Proactive govts who are concerned with how their stock exchanges are performing and how to shore up the falling values of the stocks are actively doing their parts. We used to have commentaries to talk up a falling market when the situation justified it. We used to distinguish our markets from the rest as our market was sound. And our market is sound. At least many of the companies are still reeling in millions and billions in profits. Some have cash hoards in the billions waiting to prey on distressed companies. Compare them to the companies in the US when many are insolvents, then we ask the question, why are the values of our stocks being battered down? Taken that some of their revenues will be affected. But they are still healthy companies, especially our banks and blue chips. When will the Pipe Piper stand out to blow his tune? It seems that everyone is just waiting. No one dares to utter his bit if the Pipe Piper does not act. It is like a headless corpse waiting for something to happen. And in the meantime the stockmarket continues to be slammed irresponsibly and billions being lost. There must be a return to value for the sound and profitable blue chips. It would also shore up the values of Temasek and GIC when the values of their stock holdings improve. Their books will definitely look better too. Where is the Pipe Piper?

Monitoring the transport fare increases

Can anyone provide the information on the number and amount of increases by the transport companies over the last 3 years? I am trying to get this info to keep track on how much have been added onto the fare prior to the generous deduction of 2c per trip which commuters are very grateful. Monitoring such increases is very important as it will keep track and a check on what the commuters are paying. More often than not, most tend to forget or ignore the increases as they were done in small bite sizes. Some don't even notice them, like me. I am going to put extra effort now on to follow this closely. I am waiting for a reply from the SMRT on my query.

Can we afford to do away with GRCs?

The relevance of GRC has been a perennial issue in all elections. We have been told of how important it is to ensure minority representation in the govt. Lately we have seen how useful it is for a constituency to continue to be served by other MPs in the same GRC when one has passed away. There is no need to run another costly election and wasting money and time of the people. And no lost of the quality of services to the residence. GRC has many other advantages. It allows a bunch of MPs to enter the Parliament in the same bandwagon, anchored by a strong candidate. Weak candidates need only to hang on tight to the tail coat and he is in. But of course, the sword can cut both ways. GRC can also relieve the hardworking ministers from the Meet the People Sessions if their schedules are too demanding. They can rely on the not so busy MPs to do the mundane tasks of solving residents' problems. I do not live in the GRCs of the ministers and do not know if they spend the same number of hours meeting the people as the MPs. Meeting the People is a very tedious and time consuming job and sometimes may not be too pleasant as well. Today such jobs may even carry the risk of personal injury. I think GRC will grow increasingly important as the ministers and MPs get older and less mobile or have less energy to walk the ground. Leave it to the young beavers.

Celebrating Singaporean - Professor Donald Tan Tiang Hwee

Professor Donald Tan Tiang Hwee In the company of Singapore's finest eye surgeons. That was the privilege I had yesterday when I attended a public awareness talk on cornea donation organised by the Lion's Club of Singapore. And the luminaries that graced the occasion, other than the senior Lions, were Professor Arthur Lim himself and Professor Donald Tan. A/Professor Heng Yim Jin and Dr Lim Li also made their presentation in the public seminar. Professor Arthur Lim has been an authority in eye surgery for many years and is probably the father of this field of medical science, and a mentor to the many fine eye surgeons we have here. It is heartening to know that he has a worthy successor to continue his great works and to make more progress and discoveries in this field. Together, they have made the Singapore National Eye Centre a top class eye clinic and famous around the world. They not only have a superb track record to their credits, including the highest success rate in cornea transplant, lowest tissue rejection rate, lowest cell loss rate, they are also constantly doing R and D to develop new methods and technology in cornea transplant. They improved on the technology and techniques being used, they also developed new techniques that are new frontier science and technology. Such achievements and track records need to be made known to all, especially Singaporeans that we are truly among the best. I have attached a press release by SNEC below to give more details of their achievements, including the technical jargons of cornea transplant and other surgical treatments by other equally great eye surgeons in the Centre. This press release is dated Sep 04 which is not too current, but good enough to so how much they had done since then. SNEC 15TH ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL MEETING The Singapore National Eye Centre will mark another milestone as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary since inception in 1990 with a year-long programme beginning with the SNEC 15th Anniversary International Meeting which will be held from 3 to 6 September 2004. The Theme of the Meeting: Clear Vision for All Ages, represents the mission of every ophthalmologist. There will be a high quality scientific programme featuring symposia, updates, masterclasses, skill transfer courses and live surgery demonstration presented largely by our local ophthalmologists. Renowned ophthalmologists from all over the world are also invited to speak in this Meeting. SNEC will be uncovering some of our new and significant advances from our major subspecialties that will impact the practice of ophthalmology. New Advances in Lamellar Keratoplasty Assoc Prof Donald Tan Associate Professor Donald Tan is the Deputy Director of the SNEC and Senior Consultant and Head of Cornea and External Eye Disease Service. He is also Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute and holds dual appointment as associate professor at the Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore. A/Prof Donald Tan spearheaded the cornea development with the introduction of new techniques of ocular surface transplantation and amniotic membrane transplantation in Singapore since 1997. The SNEC is now the leading Centre in these techniques in Asia besides Japan. In collaboration with dental surgeons from the National Denetal Centre, A/Prof Donald Tan led eye surgeons in SNEC to successfully complete the revolutionary two-stage Osteo-Odonto Keratoprosthesis Surgery to enable a blind boy from Thailand to see. This is the first operations of its kind in South-East Asia. Lamellar Keratoplasty (LK) refers to a surgical procedure in which the anterior corneal layers, to a variable stromal layer depth are replaced with donor tissue. The lamellar keratoplasty is used for the management of various corneal disorders and it is fast re-emerging as a viable option for corneal replacement surgery. SNEC has achieved new and significant advances in the area of LK and recent innovative surgical techniques and tolls are now emerging which allow corneal surgeons to perform LK with excellent visual results. LK has distinctive advantages over penetrating keratoplasty: sutures can be removed earlier, risks for wound dehiscence and graft failure due to allograft rejection are reduced. The need for therapeutic lamellar surgery has become more pressing in Asia, where tectonic and therapeutic indications for keratoplasty remain major indications, and the ability of corneal surgeons to perform “match and patch” grafts of various sizes and shapes allows for treatment of complex disorders such as tectonic lamellar surgery in Mooren’s ulceration and scleral melting after adjunctive pterygium surgery. At the SNEC, a review of indications for lamellar surgery show that 40% of LKs are performed for tectonic indications, while a third are performed for optical reasons, and a quarter for therapeutic indications. Clinical Applications of Optical Coherent Tomography Dr Doric Wong Dr Doric Wong is a senior consultant ophthalmologist with the Vitreo-Retina Department and the Cataract and Comprehensive Department of the Singapore National Eye Centre. He also practises in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Changi General Hospital. Dr Doric Wong spent a year at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, New York, where his focus was on medical retina. His practice encompasses most aspects of surgical retina, specifically retinal detachments, and PVR, diabetic retinopathy, macular surgery and trauma. In medical retina, his interest is on choroidal neovascular disease and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Dr Doric Wong has been invited to lecture and to teach extensively in the region. A high-powered resolution imaging for retina, the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), is now available at the Singapore National Eye Centre. OCT has matured as an investigative tool in ophthalmology over the last few years. It now provides a new and reliable and reproducible way of visualisng diseases of the retina, providing information otherwise not visible through other means. A highly detailed cross-section view of the retina can be recorded using infra-red light and special acquisition techniques. An image akin to one using a microscope to examine a slice of the retina is obtained from a patient’s eye without being invasive. Subtle changes of the retina, and its relationships with structures above and below it can be visualized and documented, helping doctors to understand disease processes which affect the retina and monitor changes with treatment. Femtosecond Laser Technology: Current Status and Future Perspectives The Femtosecond Laser Technology is fundamentally a new technology utilizing the fine precision of a femtosecond laser as a surgical tool and has applications in a host of eye surgeries including its ability to laser as a corneal flap for LASIK surgery to correct myopia, perform corneal transplantation with precise accuracy and also perform glaucoma surgery. The femtosecond laser system has the ability to perform accurate but gentle surgery on the cornea without fist having to apply heavy suction forces and deforming the natural shape of the cornea. The potential of this technology lies in the co-development of new corneal transplantation procedures which may result in improved safety and visual outcomes in patients blind from corneal diseases. For further information, please contact: Ravi Chandran Corporate Communications Executive Singapore National Eye Centre

The widening racial divide

The pain is hurting more with each day passing in Malaysia. The discrimination against the non Malays continues and will continue as a govt policy with BN in charge. Malaysia under the BN is determined to rule the country on the basis of Malay and non Malay. And the ethnic minorities suffer in silence, for too long. But the silence has been broken and they are standing up to say no to such discrimination. Hindraf is playing an increasingly important role in this fight against racial discrimination and suppression, against economic freedom and freedom to choose a way of life.And they are going to sacrifice for the cause with more martyrs to be imprisoned or to be harmed in the process. As the BN continues to build up its Malayness in a country when the Malays is not really an absolute majority, the ridiculous nature of this Malayness is now being exposed. Most of the champions of Malayness are not Malays themselves. Many are Arabs, Indians and Indonesians in orgins. And many have mixed ancestries. The point is more sore when many are new immigrants in the country compare to the ethnic minorities who have set roots here a few centuries back. The people are questioning this Malay formula. What is so Malay about being Malay? As long as the ruling BN continues with this half past six formula to cling on to power, Malaysia will continue to be divided as a country for years to come. Instead of becoming more Malaysian, it is becoming more Malay. Actually this is also a fallacy, it is not becoming more Malay but more rojak Malay. For the new Malays are not Malay in the strict sense but descendants of mixed ancestries. Who is a Malay? And the real bumiputras, the original natives of the land, were also beside sidelined. The Orang Aslis, the Dayaks, the Dusuns, the Ibans and the many tribes in East Malaysia, they do not enjoy the kind of privileges and attention the so called 'Malays' are enjoying. Would the real bumiputras stand up for their rights and rightful place in the country and chase away the pretenders?

HDB is a private commercial organisation, is a....

HDB is private, HDB is public, HDB is a commercial organisation, HDB is a govt organisation, HDB is to build flats for the people, HDB is to make as much profit for its shareholders.... What is HDB? What is the role of HDB? Oh it has been privatised, no longer a govt organisation or stats board. The govt has nothing to do with its policies. 'The Senior Minister of State for National Development, Ms Grace Fu, said yesterday that the HDB is "going to hasten the pace of the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) because we think this is a very good time....Ms Fu assured home buyers yesterday that HDB will "always price (the new flats) with the market price in mind.' This is quoted from the ST today. So is HDB govt or private? Also, this new pricing to the market must be a policy that every MP in Parliament also approved of. Was there any objection to such a policy or were there any question ask in Parliament? Objecting is a non existence word. Asking is the best that the people can expect from their representatives in Parliament.

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.