A mini golden handshake for retired workers

CBF worker or CBF economy? I thought it was meant to be CBF workers, but the ST quoted Lim Swee Say this, 'He pointed to the labour movement's current focus on building a more inclusive workforce with a CBF(cheaper, better and faster) economy. But this really make sense with the mini golden handshake that is being introduced in a bill to pay an Employment Assistance Payment to retired workers that are not rehired. The new law will expect an employer to offer continued employment to workers on turning 62 and later up to 67 years of age. If the employer is unable to offer an alternative employment he would have to pay an EAP to help the worker tie over the period when he has to look for another job. This is something that only a tripartite formula of ours could work. Good for the workers.

How about celebrating Singapore?

Singapore has grown in size and stature after one week of APEC. The leaders of the world seemed to have descended on paradise. And we have never seen so many fine and powerful people gathering here for one whole week to enjoy our hospitality and the best Singapore could offer, from food, entertainment, infrastructure, arts and culture. The number of people involved in the event, including the organisers, must be tremendous. And our leaders worked extra hard. Many must have sore hands after shaking hands with do many dignitaries. And the successful conclusion of the APEC Meeting with world leaders reaching some agreements in climate control, how to tackle the recovering economies, fighting terrorism, are the results of what this little place could produce. More important, the US or Obama, has taken a big switch in their position against Myanmar, much to the credit of ASEAN and the host of the Meeting. Obama met and spoke to Asean members, including Myanmar. The days of aloofness and arrogance, of keeping Myanmar away, incommunicado is over. The US is prepared to use diplomacy instead of threats, sanctions and wars to solve international relations. Singapore could take credit for it. A new Obama Doctrine could have emerged from his visit here. And Obama is inviting Hsien Loong to attend the Nuclear Summit in Washington next year. We are in the nuclear power league! We are now big and moving in the right company. We have arrived. Netizens should stop talking about petty things like cost of living, low pay, ERPs, handouts and charities. Let's all act big and behave big. Work harder and buy up all the new and quality homes that are going to come into the market. Singapore is a big country where people are all big and successful. We are an affluent society and must lead a lifestyle appropriate of the first world countries. The whole of last week is a good peek into what life can be in paradise. Everything so beautiful and dignified.

16 Nov is Singapore's Dog's Day

I declare 16 Nov 09 as the Day of the Dogs. A shopping mall in Serangoon Central has a 185 sq m playground dedicated to dogs, so that dogs can run free, enjoy sports equipment, running tracks, jumping bars, loops and exercise slides. And ST has devoted one and a half page on designer pooches, and how top dogs are bred to the likings and delights of their owners. We have dog restaurants and dog menus, dog parks being proposed and of course vet/dog specialists. While all these affections for dogs are good, let's not forget that there are babies and children. We do not want to end up where couples choose to have dogs than babies. Babies are no longer in fad. Happy Dog's Day.

Some pictures of Orchard Rd Disneyland

I will post more pictures as we move along to Christmas.

We need a few 'stupid' Singaporeans

Capitaland is going to build more affordable homes for the ordinary people in China. This set my eyeballs rolling. More affordable homes and in China, why not Singapore? And what is the definition of affordable? 30% or 35% of a person's income for 30 years? Our HDB used to build truly affordable homes for the people and the people greatly benefitted from it. For that, they voted for the govt for the last 45 years. But things are changing. The formula for affordability is becoming a farce. Nobody believes in it any more, to the extent that the word affordable is becoming a frightening word, a scornful word. For people who still go around mouthing that word, I wonder if they themselves believe in it. Unfortunately the truth is that they really and sincerely believe in it. For these are people who could buy 10 or 20 units of public housing flats with one year of their incomes. Only the losers are crying foul. Would successful people like Leong Mun Leong of Capitaland have second thought and said, what's going on, I have everything I want in life, I have more than enough, I have done and achieve enough, maybe it is time to do some national service, build really 'affordable' homes for the ordinary people of Singapore. Prove that public housing can be better and cheaper, and not dwindling in size. That would be a great mission. But such an idealistic mission is meant only for 'stupid' people who believe in little ideals like serving the people and taking care of the people, giving the people a good life. This is opposed to those who are too talented and too pragmatic, and wanting more and more for themselves. We have many successful people like Liew Mun Leong. What we need is to find among them some 'stupid' people to serve the people and thinking for the people, to redefine what is a good life. Not the current formula of working till one drops dead and paying for a whole life for a pigeon hole, and having no savings for retirement when the savings rate is more than 35% of a person's income. How could it be when our savings rate is the highest in Asia, next only to Japan? The basket is leaking, a big hole, or many holes!

Another 'bee tang' story

Yes, yes, 4rm flat is going to cost $1m. It is possible. The ST reported today that a 4rm flat at Queenstown has been sold to a rich Indonesian PR for $653k! This is a record! This is a record! And another few hundred thousand is all that needs to hit the $1m mark. Singaporeans should hang on to their dream flats, don't anyhow sell. And agents will tell potential buyers that $653k has been done. And with no one selling, the desperate buyers will have little choice. The new flats will come in a few years time, and provided the supply is enough. Then again, with land cost and building cost going up, don't bet on it that it will be cheaper. Some in the property circus have commented that this is a one time anomaly, it still shows that the rich and impatient PRs will just pay. And those who got a windfall from en bloc sale, pocketing a cool $1m or $2m, coughing out a bit more to pay for a choice HDB flat should not be a problem. Let's rub our hands and wait. Tan ku ku. My Lijiang dream is brighter now. On the other side of the fence, two forumers wrote in the My Paper, one Ng Teck Wee warned against speculating with housing and essentials. Another, Pan Yunyi wanted a cap on HDB resale prices. Both are just impossible suggestions in a free market economy. The govt cannot meddle with market forces. The supply and demand will determine the price. And those caught on the wrong end of the equation just got to buck up or live within their means, ie downgrade. That's being realistic. For those who have hoarded up on properties, wow, boom town charlie!

Chinese Netizen’s attack misplaced

In a way I would say that the attack by the Chinese netizens on LKY is misplaced or misinformed. LKY is after all a politician and doing what he knew best. What he said in America about the need for America’s presence in the region was mainly for American consumption. He could not possibly go there to tell the Americans to pack up and go home. He was just being a good guest and a good politician. No politician in the world can tell their listeners off especially if there is a need to make them happy or to win their votes. Only politicians in Singapore can afford to give its people or voters a dressing down or make outright blunt statements. Singaporeans are used to it by now, and probably love them for being treated like little children. Singaporeans could easily run off phrases like if you are asking for help, what do you expect, eat at hawker centre or restaurant? Or if you have no money, buy smaller flats lah. What’s so difficult? Live within your means if you are a loser. Period. And if Singaporeans migrated, they are called quitters. After all their votes no longer count. But wait a minute. They might have left, but they still have relations and friends here whom they could agitate for being called unfriendly names. LKY was in the US and he could not say the kind of things the Singaporean politicians could to the people. The American audience would not take a public dressing down quietly. It may be our Singaporean culture, but not American. In America, politicians know exactly what to say and not to offend their voters. Only the American voters will show their middle fingers to the politicians. So Chinese netizens, be realistic and don’t anyhow throw your tantrum. Must accept some decorum and no need to behave like hooligans. Hu JinTao is here as our honoured guest and offering us two the Chinese guobaos for 10 years. If we ask, he may even let us have one jiabao for a few years. Let’s be friends ok?

Entrapment not for the good guys

Lawyers who plot to expose rival's wrongdoings and then report them for disciplinary action will now also be subject to sanction.' I quoted this from the ST to make sure that I did not misquote any word. Too risky talking about the legal profession. Sekali kena sue. What was reported in the paper is that some lawyers have been entrapping fellow lawyers and get those lawyers into trouble. In an honourable profession, such acts have violated some ethical issues. The good men of our society have set a very high standard of ethical behavior for themselves. In the world of triads and mafias, they have no need to observe such niceties. Entrapments, cheating, sneaking around, fixing their enemies are all part and parcel of the game. It is better to be bad men and live with a different set of ethics. Being good men is tough. Trying to fix up your peers can get you into trouble for being unethical. Conduct unbecoming of an honourable man.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan

The Fort Hood Massacre is the most successfully managed tragedy of modern day America. 13 of its young men were killed by friendly fire, and more than 30 wounded, not in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan, but on home soil in Fort Hood. Unimaginable, that war started at home, just like George Bush ducking for cover during the 911 attack. It was not friendly fire to start with. Home ground was never a batttle field. Then what or how should this shooting be called, practise round or the act of a mad man? When the news broke, it seemed that hell will break loose and vengeful attacks could start like wild fires across America. But none of that happens. The great American people took it in their stride, that it was a freak incident by a misguided or deranged individual. And the media, plus the govt officials all sang the same song. A big reprisal has been avoided. There is a serene calm in the American community. The funeral was well attended and tears shed. Military honours were awarded to the brave soldiers who died before setting foot on enemy territory. America seems to have won this first round, to contain the damages and avoid more collateral damages. Is this the end of one chapter of America's history? Or would there be more to come? It is so fortunate that the KKK have been wiped out and the Nazi groups were all under controlled. The white extremist groups and white superiority movements have been silent, too quiet for comfort. Could anyone sense that something is brewing? Could this episode be history and life goes on as usual? My fear is that any wrong move of this kind is going to ignite a wild fire. Pray that such acts should not happen at all as one act could lead to another. Citizens of the world should seek peaceful coxistence and not resort to violence. For violence begets violence. God bless America.

Chinese netizens attacked LKY

Chinese netizens were fuming mad and were up in arms over LKY’s speech in the US when he was presented with a Life Time Achievement Award by the American business community. In his key note address to the audience of American elites, LKY stated his stand that the presence of the US in Asia is welcomed as a balance against the growing might of China. He commented that even the combined force of India and Japan would not be able to stand in the way of a much stronger China, militarily and economically. The Chinese netizens were angry that LKY was in a way inviting the Americans into the region to be a balance against Chinese influence. And more than a week has passed, and all is quiet on the eastern front. I was hoping to hear or see some robust response from Singaporeans to defend the Mentor Minister. But I should have known better, the apathetic and kiasi Singaporeans will not do or say anything. What about the politicised Singaporeans or the politicians? Would they defend LKY against the attack by the Chinese netizens? Or should they? The only response came from Hsien Loong and for the rest, silence is golden. Maybe we will see a more robust reply in our Parliament when the MPs met. Or at least they could ask some questions if they did not bang tables and chairs. Or maybe the issue isn’t worthy to waste parliament’s time. Better to spend time talking about fore play and ethics. Now, what am I talking. Sorry, I meant fair play and and ethics. The reticence of Singaporeans when confronted by a hostile mob could be the consequence of our culture of depoliticisation. We were bred to keep our mouths sealed, see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing or do nothing. Unless, like Jack Neo said, if the govt said do then we do lah. In this case no signal coming from the govt, so no need to do anything. Letting LKY stand out alone to face the music does not look good. But on the other hand he does not need anyone to fight his battle. He is good enough to take on anyone. Then again, what is so wrong with his speech in the US? He was there, and said the things which his hosts wanted to hear. And with the hosts showering him with so many kind words, he was just being polite to return the kindness. What is said for public consumption is not necessary the same as realpolitiks that were usually thrashed out in the kitchen. The baba has taken a long journey to become a China man. What could be in his mind?

Bring back the law to hang horse thieves

The financial crisis is stabilising and things appear to be settling down. The banks and financial institutions are nursing their wounds after trillions of dollars have been thrown in to save them. But the thieves, conmen and fraudsters are still intact, still in the game, stealing from these organisations. The banks can afford to fail and go bust. But nothing will happen to these thieves and their collaborators. How so? They are so talented that whatever that they are stealing from the organisations are legal and contractual, approved by the Board of Directors who in turn are paid handsomely by them. Brilliant. Whatever that will happen to the organisations under their watches, the thieves, conmen and fraudsters will remain free, respectable, above the law, and very rich. The APEC meeting is in town and one of the first recommendation coming out is on how to save and protect banks and financial institutions from going down. The wise men and women have proposed a long list of do's and don'ts, to tighten control and procedures etc etc. Someone even suggest that banks should buy more insurance to cover their positions. They forgot that insurers can also go bust. And who is to insure the insurers. But the most important element they forgot to safeguard is the thieves, conmen and fraudsters. These thugs are allowed to continue to do what they were doing, to enrich themselves by robbing the banks and institutions in their control. The wise men and women in town seem to have forgotten that there is nothing wrong with the banks and financial institutions but the people managing them and robbing them. My simple layman recommendation is to reintroduce the law against horse thieves. Hang them and confiscate all their ill gotten wealth and return them to the organisations they brought down. That is the only insurance against these thieves. They must be held accountable and be made to face the ultimate punishment. Nothing else will work. The thieves, conmen and fraudsters are working within and inside the system. Where is the resolve to clean up the system? Or are the thieves, conmen and fraudsters still at work and having a say in all these recommendations, to cover everything except them?

Panic button or election fodder?

Not too long ago, the developers were trying to sell the line that 1000 psf properties are cheap and could even go higher. They knew their sums. More foreigners, limited land and limited supply, sure property prices must go up. Then some quarters were extolling the great virtues of our housing programme and how lucky we are compare to the mickey mouse flats and shoe boxes for rats in Hongkong, and selling at 3 times our prices. The message is that housing prices will keep going up and the sizes of flats will shrink. That is the future of Singaporeans. And there were quarters telling the people that public housing prices are affordable and good value for money. And supply is not a problem. Then a few days back, Chok Tong and then Mah Bow Tan came out to assure the people not to panic, don't rush in to buy, the govt will provide more affordable housing by putting up more land for bidding. It is like going to the toilet and the flats will be out in a few minutes. The MAS chipped in yesterday to warn of more measures to curb speculation if necessary. This is turning into something quite serious. Is all these panicky measures necessary? Looking from the positive side, Singapore has more than 800,000 units of public housing alone. If the govt could relax the sub letting rule and let all public flat owners to sublet their flats to foreigners, all Singaporeans could be instantly turn into landlords. In such a scenario, there is no need to build more flats. In fact the flat owners will be begging the govt not to build more flats. Squeeze the supply so that their flats can be worth $1m or $2m. Then they have the options to sell them or sub let them at higher prices. And all Singaporeans need not work anymore, just live on the income of their rentals. We will become a land of landlords. And we can increase the population to 8m and the people will be asking for more to increase the demand for rental flats. Foreigners will all be welcome. No need any campaign to be nice to foreigers anymore. All the flat owners will live happily with the foreigners as their tenants. And we will be number One again in integrating foreigners with our citizens and they all live happily together, under one roof. Won't that be nice?

Another nail in the coffin of the American Empire

The Americans have just passed a health bill amounting to US$3 trillion to provide health coverage for the poor Americans. This looks good, generous and a pro people bill. But it does not address the causes of the high medical cost. America is just feeding the greed of the people in the system, from the medical professionals to the insurers and the lawyers. They are the ones who are benefitting extraordinarily from the poorly managed health system that generates billions into their pockets. Unless America stamps the extravagance in medical/legal/insurance cost, it is an exercise in vain. The hole will be bigger and bigger and will drag America into more debt. Now there are two big black holes, the financial system and the health system.

No greed in the animal kingdom

My experience in watching the animals and birds at Sungei Buloh told me one thing, there is no greed in the animal kingdom. The crocodile will not kill more than one prey. It kills only when it is hungry. So are other predatory animals. Even the stray cats will not kill unnecessarily. And the birds do not build more than one nest. They are contented with just one nest. The only specie that exhibits greed to the extreme is man. They not only want $10m, but $10b or even more if they could get their hands to it. And houses, the more the merrier. 10 houses, 20 houses or 30 houses, there is no limit to this acquisition. There is no such thing as enough in the mindset of man.

A timely intervention

This incident happened about 40 years ago, when good men were in the govt looking after the welfare of the people. In the heart of the Singapore River was all the trading activities, and a few rice merchants were forming a cartel to corner the rice market. They wanted to make huge profits by controlling the rice trade and price. The consequence was that the masses, the common folks, would be at their mercy, paying whatever price they demanded for rice. The govt stepped in, ticked them off, ostracised them, and set up Intraco with the main purpose of keeping the price of rice and essential food affordable, not charging at market price and no need for subsidies. Just simple cost plus some profit. No need to explain until face green green and nobody believe any word spoken. The people till now are still benefitting from this timely intervention, and the price of rice did not go spiralling up to a point of being painfully affordable. Those were the good old days with good and selfless people in charge and caring more for the good of the people. They were paid well, but not extravagant. These were the good records of a good govt that is for the people. After all the kpkb in cyberspace, we are having two assurances, one from Chok Tong and another from Mah Bow Tan. How would these turn out? As long as the bidding for land mechanism, market pricing, 'subsidising market price' policies are not changed, nothing will change. The price of properties will continue to spiral upwards. And the new mantra is that micky mouse flats or shoe boxes are good for living, a new lifestyle, and cheap too, at half a million for 400 sq ft. Looks like the goal of a Swiss standard of living has been modified to a Hongkong standard of living. Could we hope for a timely intervention like 40 years ago?

Some pics from Sungei Buloh

These are some pics which I took on a Saturday afternoon at Sungei Buloh last week. The crocodile at the top was taken on the same day. I used to think that the signboards warning of crocodiles were farfetched till I saw this guy at the first bridge after the main entrance to the reserves.

More pics from Sungei Buloh

Housing for the people -losing bearing, losing sight

Chok Tong's assurance of more affordable housing for the people is being met with a big dose of scepticism. Not many want to believe him and I can understand why. Unless the details are work out wit a big change in the arithmetics, it is going to be 'more of the same and nothing new'. The media is splashing across its pages with news of many more sites being offered or going to be offered for more private housing. That's where the demand is, probably from rich foreigners. One developer quoted in the media commented that the sites in Simei and Pheng Geck Avenue could fetch $1000 psf on completion. So what is new? $1000 psf is the new standard of affordability. There will be more on offer. Singaporeans can watch with their salivas dripping from their mouths while the rich foreigners will grab them up, some from ill gotten gains transferred here as new money. As one forumer, Joshua Selvakumar, wrote in the ST forum, how could prices come down when the bids by contractors are going higher by the day? He quoted a 'surprise bid of $251m' which was three times the trigger price of $82m. Who is going to pay for such a high bid? No need to ask. And there was a little comment by the govt that the sites on offer would be withdrawn if the bids fell below its expected price. Govt is not about making money, more money and more money. Govt is about giving the people a good life, the general well being of the people. Who cares about the trillions the govt has in the reserves? Who cares if they have lost hundreds of billions in their investment. What the people is concerned about are their basic needs, like a decent and affordable homes. Not the shoe box quality in Hongkong and the Hongkong prices. A reporter even compared this and said how grateful Singaporeans should be. if we reach such a state like in Hongkong, who is to be blamed. We don't need a govt that set these as the standard or quality of living for the people. If the land price is not controlled, no matter how many more sites are put up, the cost of housing will keep running away, out of sync. Housing, medical and education cannot be equated to a commercial enterprise with commercial aims and objectives, and making as much money as possible from the people. Are we going to have more of the same, more 'affordable' flats? Are the scepticisms of the assurance justified?

A reassurance from Chok Tong

Last night heard Chok Tong reassuring the people that the govt had their interest at heart, citizens first and foreigners second. And the most important part, more properties would be made available and the government would "ensure that property prices do not fall out of sync with economic fundamentals." So basically he is saying that there will be more flats at affordable prices. Unfortunately 'more and affordable' are two words that are getting out of sync with the people. What is more when each cohort of citizens is about 30,000 heads and HDB sold less than 5,000 units of flats last year? When 30,000 people got hitched, there is a demand for 15,000 units and even at 50% rate, the demand is for 7,500 units. Out of sync or in sync? What about the additional demand from another few hundred foreigners, PRs and new citizens? Obviously 'more' means different things to different people. No need to explain further about the definition of affordability. It is totally out of sync from the hardlander's definition. The CPF was primarily a retirement fund but now would be emptied for the first 30 years to pay for an affordable flat. I agree that there will be plenty of CPF left if everyone will to go for a 2rm or 3rm flat. But the reality is that this is not the expectation of a Swiss standard level of living. With a huge chunk of money being used to pay for a flat, and expectation to set aside another chunk in minimum sum and Medisave, and the people still expected to save for their retirement, where is the disposable income? A family income of $5k is also very tight with 2 school going children. Are we in sync or out of sync? But if you everyone is having a million or several million dollar income, then everything is smooth going. Everything is in sync. Please tell us what is more and what is the meaning of affordable.

Correction to my HDB assumption

When I posted the article on 'Help save HDB' I used a ballpark figure of 20,000 units of flats sold for 2009. My assumption was way off the mark. I read from a report that the number of units sold was 4,736 units. Using a round figure of 5,000, 2,000,000,000/5,000, the deficit will come to $400,000 per unit of flat sold. Unbelieveable but it is true. I am prepare to change this number if anyone has a better number and wants to correct me. The $400,000 per unit is not only unbelieveable but incredible and even looks nonsensical.