Are we better off?

An analysis of the UBS study: Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers By Eugene Yeo, Consultant Editor The worldwide study conducted and released by UBS lately, titled “Price and Earnings 2009″ has some unflattering results for Singapore. (download the study here) While our economy has the highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Asia at $49,288 according to a World Bank report (source:Wikipedia), our people do not enjoy a quality of life which commensurate with it. Though we are technically a developed first world country, some economic indictators as shown by the UBS study suggested that Singaporeans are not that better off than those in Third World countries. Low wages Singapore has a GDP (PPP) per capita higher than Switzerland, but our wages are way below the Swiss. The UBS study found that employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross earnings. With its extremely high gross wages and comparatively low tax rates, Switzerland is a very employee-friendly country. The net wages used have been deducted for taxes and social security. Zurich and Geneva have wage indices (gross) of 119.8 and 107.5 respectively. In contrast, Singapore has a wage index of only 31.3, comparable with Moscow (30.9), Tallinn (28.7) and Johannesburg (26.7). In the Asia-Pacific region, it is exceeded by Tokyo (83.0), Sydney (74.1), Auckland (44.1), Hong Kong (42.3), Taipei (35.5) and Seoul (32.3) Low domestic purchasing power Where does an average income buy the most products and services? Wages alone do not determine the standard of living in a particular city or country. A better way to measure prosperity is to divide the average annual salary by the total price of a selected basket of goods and services (as used in the UBS study). This tells us how much purchasing power local wages. Again, Zurich (106.9), Sydney (95.9) and Luxembourg (95.4) topped the list – its citizens have the highest domestic purchasing power. Singaporeans have a low purchasing power of only 39.9, comparable to Kuala Lumpur (39.5), Warsaw (34.0) and Bogota (33.7). Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region which are ahead of us are Tokyo (82.2), Auckland (68.9), Taipei (58.9), Hong Kong (58.1) and Seoul (57.4). In other words, though the cost of living is higher in Tokyo, the average Japanese has a domestic purchasing power more than twice that of an average Singaporean. Though Malaysia is still a developing country and has a GDP (PPP) per capita of only $14,215, less than 3 times of ours, the ordinary Malaysian citizen has about the same domestic purchasing power as the Singaporean. Low relative purchasing power of wages This is calculated in the UBS study by using a specific, highly uniform product that is available everywhere in the same quality, and then calculate how long an employee has to work to afford it in each city. For the purpose of this article, the iPod nano (with 8 GB of storage) is used. An average wage earner is Zurich and New York can buy a nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. A Singapore worker will have to work three times longer after 27..5 hours. The figures for selected Asia-Pacific cities are as follows: Sydney (9.5hrs), Tokyo (12hrs), Auckland (16hrs), Hong Kong (19hrs), Seoul (22hrs) and Taipei (23.5hrs). Again we came in last among the 4 Asian Tigers. Long working hours People work an average of 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities, but they work much longer in Asian and Middle Eastern cities, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 per year respectively. European cities had the lowest working hours per year. A global comparison showed the people in Lyon and Paris spend the least amount of time at work: 1,582 and 1,594 hours respectively. Singaporeans spent on average 2,088 hours at work per year with 11 days of vacation. This is less than Hong Kong (2,295) and Seoul (2,312), but more than Tokyo (1,997), Taipei (2,074), Sydney (1,747) and Auckland (1,884). Singaporeans also took the least number of holidays after Hong Kongers (10 days/year). High cost of living Singapore was ranked the second most expensive place to live in after Tokyo, surpassing Hong Kong for the first time. Let us compare the food prices in Singapore and other developed countries since food is a basic necessity. In the UBS study, a basket of 39 food items is put together and weighted mainly according to Western European consumption habits. The average worldwide cost of the basket is USD385. In Asia, Tokyo topped the list with an index of 124.7, followed by Hong Kong (96.5), Singapore (89.4), Seoul (89.0), Taipei (67.9) and Sydney (66.3) Conclusion The high cost of living coupled with low wages and domestic purchasing power condemns the average Singapore worker to an ignonimous, monotonus and stressful working life. Singapore workers have to work harder to earn the same amount of money and save for a longer period to purchase the same product. In 1991, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong promised Singaporeans that we will be able to achieve the “Swiss standard of living” within a decade. Ten years later, we have a living standard which is closer to Russia than Switzerland. Like Singapore, the Russians has a low wage and domestic purchasing power and Russia, especially the city of Moscow, has one of the highest cost of living in the world. The above article was emailed to me and I am not sure which paper was it published, most probably the ST or Business Times.

Consequences of grade inflation

More letters are pouring in and more grouses will be heard when 6A1s and 4A2s are not good enough for admission to Hua Chong JC. And the same thing will apply to admission to Raffles Institution. Parents are right to be fuming mad that their children with such great results could not find places in the two top JCs. Why? Grade inflation or Integrated Programme(IP) programme? Like it or not, the top students are in the IP programme and have already been admitted. The second best, now filling the places in the normal distribution of straight As are not the same as the best in the IP programme. It is damn good feeling to get straight As even in the Normal stream. But the reality is that straight As in Division Two are not the same as straight As in Division One. What shall the MOE do to please parents and students? Continue with grade inflation or grade the Division Two students as the Division One students which means that many may not get their straight As? Alternatively it can open up more places in the top JCs for these students and appease their parents. Tough situation requiring tough fixes.

The revelation of Pastor Rony Tan

I was told to watch the Youtube video. I did not want to bother. Then it came over the news that Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism was called up by the ISD and made a public apology. Now it sounded serious enough for me to want to know what actually happened in the video. There were 3 videos actually, two on a Joseph Wee and a third on a woman named Rita. One was a former monk and the other a nun, and both were interviewed by Rony Tan on stage in front of his congregation. Immediately it was very obvious that the two interviewees were ignoramus as far as Buddhism is concerned, though they claimed to be monk and nun. Or at least they portrayed themselves as two simpletons who, after spending so many years in the religion and claiming to be quite devout, could not make any sense of the teaching. Or maybe they were simply a bit dull. In fact the interviews came across as a stage managed process all out to ridicule Buddhism. And Rony Tan was given the opportunity to make comments like being under the influence of demons, blind leading the blind, and false religion. He came across as the wise man and the other two like fools. But then he commented that Joseph was good enough to become a pastor and doing very good work in converting children to his religion. Everyone had a good laugh at the two silly interviewees and Buddhism. The message that Rony Tan was making was that his was the only true religion and others were false religions. And he knew where he was going while the rest were led by the blind. I am very sure that he knew where and what heaven is all about while the Buddhists did not know what is nirvana. He implied that since the Buddhists did not know nirvana and had not been there, there were talking about things that they did not know. This also implied that Rony Tan must have been to heaven or his believers must have been there and they knew what heaven is all about. As far as I know, the Bible said there is no Christians in heaven! Then how could Rony Tan be so sure about what heaven is all about? And he must have been conducting funeral rites for his followers that they were called home to be with the Lord. The other revelation is that he believed other religions were false or the blind leading the blind. I wonder what he would say when in the company of other religious leaders? Would he say, 'I respect what you all are believing in and your religions.' Then when he returned to his church, he could continue to preach his sermons about other religions according to his belief. Or maybe he will tell them the truth as he is not supposed to lie. Now he has been called up by the ISD and has apologised. Is he sincere in his apology and would not do it again? Would his apology be in conflict with his belief, after all he believes that he is on the right path and is telling the truth. Some comments in cyberspace said it was alright for religious leaders to preach about other religions to their followers within the confines of their religious abodes. Is it really alright? Or have religious leaders been doing such things all the while in their own sermons to their believers, running down on other religions? Now we can understand why some religions are so divisive and so hypocritical. Preaching one thing behind closed doors and putting on a smiling face and embracing the devils and demons in public.

How many casinos is enough?

One casino licence has been issued to Resorts World Sentosa. Marina Bay Sands should be getting theirs in no time. Would the two casinos be enough to satisfy the gambling urge of the Singaporean gamblers. And to include the Toto, 4D, Football Pool and Turf Club, I think we should have enough gambling instruments and organisations to please everyone in need of pleasing. With Singaporean gamblers now spoilt for choices, maybe it is high time that MAS take a more serious view of the financial industry, including banking and the stock market, to reduce or remove the gambling elements in them. The banking and finance industry used to be solid institutions for long term investment and perhaps slower growth. But with the ingenuities of the financial experts, many paper products were created and pushed to the investors with little regards to the harm they are causing to them and the industry as a whole. The minibond saga was a case in point. Tbere are many derivaties that are in the market, worthless pieces of paper that are not backed by any securities or collaterals, or heavily leveraged that when there is a call to dump them, many investors will end up with practically nothing but yes, worthless papers like the Lehman Bonds and other toxic products. It is opportune time to reflect on the health of the banking and finance industry and rein in fictitious and questionable products from the market. Just because the Americans are doing it, marketing it and playing with it, it does not mean that they are reasonably save products. They are mostly leveraged tens of times of their real values and at times the real values could be as much as the value of the pieces of paper they are printed. The banking and finance industry must return to their fundamentals and slower growth. The industry in American are highly geared to pay astronomical bonuses by taking high risks that are unbecoming of the institutions that are the cornerstones of the whole financial industry and the economy. The products are highly dangerous and only fit for the casinos. We don't need more casinos.

When will the balloon burst?

There are many things that we are paying through our nose and are taken for granted as our way of life. The question is whether we should be paying so much for them, and if we can afford to key paying for them. Our housing is going the way of Hongkong and Tokyo. Our cheap public housing is no longer cheap anymore. And we will make them more expensive for the good of the people who have bought them. But someone must pay for it and keep the balloon from its unstoppable inflation. We are paying for cars that cost about one third of its import price. For $50k or $60k, we could be driving much bigger and more luxurious made cars. Or we could be driving the same cars and saving a fortune from it. How much does a Toyota or Honda cost really? And how much is a Mercedes or a BMW? Are we being shortchanged? And our medical cost is skyrocketing like hot air. Funny thing is that there is a ruling against doctors overcharging their clients. The complicated surgical procedures and the expensive and sophisticated equipment will add to the cost. What about cough and colds, tooth extraction or fillings? The way it is going, another big chunk of our income will have to be set aside to pay for medical cost. Then we have to pay astronomical salaries to ministers, and some are still complaining. But this is the cheapest to pay for. Just one plate of kway teow or maybe add another plate every time they increase their salaries will solve it. This one is cheap really when the cost is spread around to every Singaporean. The good thing is that Singaporeans can afford to pay for all the extraordinary costs of things which need not be. And there is no fear of the balloon bursting as long as we can keep paying our people more and more salary to feed all the high cost items. Can we really continue to pay our workers higher and higher salary in a competitive and interconnected world? Why should our cleaners by paid $1000 pm when other countries are paying them $300? Why should our average workers by paid $2000 pm when others are paid less than half of that amount? Can productivity really solve this imbalance? Use more machines and computerisation and lesser manpower? Starting from the worker's level, once they cannot feed the system to pay for their cost of living, the effect will be felt to the next levels. But some levels will be so insulated that nothing will happen to them even if the dam breaks. For now, the magician and his magic wand is still doing wonderfully and paying for ever more expensive items for a living seems to be easy.

No criminals in our casinos

The police have announced that 3,500 people with serious criminal records will be barred from the casinos under the Commissioner of Police Exclusion Order. This is different from the Self Exclusion Order that a gambler or his family could exercise to keep himself out of the casinos. This is another positive step in the right direction to keep our casinos crime and sleaze free. I am sure all the religious organisations will also be helping the authority in their daily sermons to advise their believers to stay away from the casinos. With this two prong approach, the casinos can be sure to be free from criminals and angels. Only the secular and ungodly people will be left to visit these new playgrounds. I am wondering whether those commercial cheats who squandered away money from commercial and charity organisations will also be barred? I think they should. People who committed breach of trust, commercial frauds, dishonesty, should also be excluded from the casinos. With such an exclusion order acting as an additional deterrent, the casinos could be doing a good thing for society, telling potential cheats to be good if they want to play in their games rooms. An incentive not to take the wayward path.

When paradise beckons

We are into the second month of 2010 and things are gradually transforming. The stalwarts of first generation Singaporeans are fading away one by one. Ng Teng Fong, the richest man here, has been called home to the Lord like many before him. Our Olympian Tan Eng Yong, also went home when the Lord sent a driver to fetch him. Both men, given their health and wealth, should technically live forever. Their departures are a reminder that paradise is where we should be, our home. Funny thing is that no one wants to return home to paradise. I was at a funeral service of a young friend whom the Lord loves so much to take her back in her thirties. And all was grim and gloom. All wore black to show their sadness when paradise beckoned. And our good friend Boon Wan is working tirelessly to provide us with the best medical services, facilities and treatment to keep us here longer. And he unknowingly think that with more money in our Medisave, we can remain here longer and happier, better taken care off in the nursing homes, with first class nursing care. Does he think that his hospitals and nursing homes are better places than paradise where the Lord had gone ahead to prepare his mansions for us? This is an issue that is most confusing and most contradicting in the minds of mortals. Paradise beckons and no one is tempted. Hell is where they want to be. Or hell on earth is where they want to hang on, for as long as they could, even forgoing their little comforts, saving as much as they could to cling onto life in this hellish world. I can't blame those who have found paradise on earth and refuse to go. But many would have been better off returning to the ultimate home in paradise. While the Lord prepares his empty mansions in anticipation of our return, Boon Wan is preparing his nursing homes with great comforts in his imaginable ways, to show us how much he cares. He also makes sure that we have the money to pay for it.

Disproportionate reality and disproportionate truth

Properties in Singapore are cheap, especially the high-end ones that are built for the super rich. At $3m or $5m a piece, it is too easily affordable. Many of the super rich will find properties at $20m or $30m a piece affordable as well. At the employee level, i.e. workers who earn a salary, this includes ministers and top civil servants, properties at $3m or $5m are actually as expensive as peanuts. They could buy one every year or every other year with their annual salaries. Isn’t that fun? Life is really good for these highly paid workers. Then we have workers, the genuine low down working class, complaining that a $300k flat is expensive and unaffordable. And the ministers and top civil servants are telling them it is not so. These flats are really and truly affordable. It makes sense when one could pay a $3m to $5m property with one or two year’s salary. But the disconnect is quite obvious. Why are the workers complaining? Simple, their incomes are just too little relative to the price of the flats they have to pay. And they need two incomes and 30 years to be able to pay that miserable $300k. So, is their complaint genuine or they are just a pain in the arse? To these low paid workers, their perspective of affordability must be different, and real. They think so anyway. The cheap flats are expensive, very expensive to them. And the reality of the cheap private properties is also real, as the buyers need only cough out a couple of years' income to pay them off. No need to take loans at all. The disproportionate reality and the disproportionate truth divide the real workers from the surreal workers in paradise. Quite funny huh?

Battle of Tampines 2

Chok tong has came into the battleground and fired his first salvo. Let's talk policies and let's offer alternative solutions instead of criticising. It is easy to criticise but what about offering alternative solutions? Sounds fair? Of course it is easy to criticise. But before anyone, who does not have the resources of all the supertalents, attempts to offer solutions, let's ask if this kind of familiar challenge is fair. In the first place, why should people who are not being paid a single cent come up with alternative solutions, and a better solution? Solving national issues is not going to the jamban to shit. It takes a lot of information, data and considerations, demanding a lot of time and resources, to come out with something that is workable. On this point a lone I think it is an unfair challenge. What I think the critics can do is to criticise. Yes, critics only need to do that, nothing more nothing less. But if the govt is willing to pay the critics, provide them with the resources, maybe they can venture into trying to find an alternative solution. What about the politicians? My view is that they should just offer a new direction, of where they want to go, what they want to do. The details and how to go about in achieving their objectives and policies should be left to the talented pool of civil servants to help them to work out the sums. Without the resources, they should not attempt to offer solutions that are likely to be inadequate. Just talk policies and objectives, what they want to do for the people. That should suffice.

Anything new from the ESC Reports?

With 25 high power supertalents in the Committee, including 9 ministers, and 6 months of deep and challenging thoughts, is there anything new coming from this Committee. I am quite disappointed actually. To me there is nothing new. One Winsemius could probably come up with more and enlightening suggestions to change our landscape and lead us to a brighter future. But not all is lost. At least the Committee discovered that the high dependence on foreign workers is a dangerous road to take. This is probably their one and only major contribution to reverse course. Without this Committee we will still be plodding along happily with more foreign workers. PS, the whole cyberspace netizens knew this long ago and have been kpkb about it for quite sometime. A side contribution is of course more money for the govt in terms of higher foreign workers levies. Can't think of anything else that is near to a revelation.

The Battle for Tampines

It is not about the person but the policy. Mah Bow Tan is just a policy maker and should not be the issue in the election. Some may want to make it one but that is a private matter to those who want to do so. Let Tampines be a contest of ideas, a contest for the people to decide whether the HDB housing policy is good for them or a daft one. From the govt's perspective, it is an excellent policy that is good for the people. So, who should decide if this policy is good for the people? The people or the govt? The election will allow the people to say so, to make sure that they are heard, to tell the govt what they want and what is good or no good for them. It is the time for the people to say, 'I say so!' What are the issues at stake or what are the components of this HDB policy? 1. High HDB price is good. 2. HDB flats should be priced at market price with a market subsidy. 3. HDB will build flats only if there is demand for it. And demand is defined as applicants putting in their applications. HDB will not project demands and plan their building programmes on available information and demographic data. 4. Flats will only be available to move in after 3/4 years on application. 5. Affordability means 2 incomes and 30 years to pay for a smaller flat as sky rocketing prices means paying more and getting less. 6. Your children will get to pay more and more for HDB flats. 7. The actual cost of building HDB flats will remain a mystery. No need to know. These are some of the key features of the current HDB policy. Would the people be daft enough to vote against this policy. Or would the people be smart enough to vote for this policy?

Are the people going to accept this Medisave increase quietly?

A week of silence after Boon Wan sounded the idea of raising Medisave contributions and finally I read a letter in the Today forum by a Alex Chan. Chan was concerned that the increase will hurt the young home owners as HDB has already targeted 30% of their income for its flats. These home owners have already budgeted what they could afford to pay for housing to the max. Anymore design on their CPF will mean touching on their disposable income or for those still waiting to buy a flat to revise downwards and look for a smaller unit. But surprisingly not many complain letters were sent to the ST forum. Maybe there is no problem really and Alex Chan's concern is misplaced. So far from the govt side, only Halimah Yaacob raised some concerns that it will affect the workers if this thing is pushed through. She is the only voice against the increase. So what about the rest of the MPs? Are there still studying the proposal and getting feedback from the people? It will be good to know which MP is for or against this proposal. It will also be good to know how they vote after they have expressed their views in Parliament. I am deeply concern about this raising of Medisave contributions and locking up more of the people's money. It seems that the govt is bend on holding on to the people's money for as much as they can lay their hands on and for as long as possible. This is the message I am getting. Is the govt so hard up of money? Obviously no. GIC and Temasek are still globe trotting around looking for good buys and absorbing whatever losses in their stride. Still, the people will have their ways of looking at these monetary measures as a way of snatching their money from them and will have many negative thoughts and feelings. And to some it is not just feelings but very painful. I would like to suggest that Boon Wan make it more painful by raising another 5%. A big pain for once instead of creeping pains every other year. This is textbook Machiavellian strategy. Or is it to make it less painful like raising property taxes every now and then instead of all at one go? Looks like I am going to here for a while and I will just go on posting.

A familiar Gulf story

Expat workers threaten Gulf existence Feb 03, 2010 DUBAI - An influx of foreign workers in the Gulf poses a threat to the region's existence, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Wednesday, citing Bahrain's Labour Minister Majeed al-Alawi. The minister said the situation could become like Singapore and the Maldives, where "foreign workers had been brought on temporary contracts and are now ruling these countries," according to the report. Speaking at a labour conference in Abu Dhabi, Alawi said one million citizens in the wealthy Gulf are unemployed even though the region employs 17 million foreign workers, describing them as "a threat to our existence", Gulf News reported. Alawi pointed out that while 50 percent of projects in the Gulf have have come to a halt due to the impact of the global recession, the number of foreign workers has not declined. "Whoever thinks this foreign manpower in the region comes for a project and leaves on its completion is wrong. They come to stay. They buy and sell in their market created on our lands but accommodate no Arab," he said." he was quoted as saying. Alawi added: "This way countries were lost and we, in the Gulf, are facing the same threat. If this is not happening now, it will happen in the next generation." Officials in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have for years expressed concerns over the presence of millions of expat workers who are needed to run their economies. Still these countries continue to hire skilled and unskilled people from abroad to do jobs their citizens either cannot do or do not want to do. The above article is copied from Maktoob Business . Maktoob The Gulf states fear that they will lose their countries to foreigners. In the Singapore experience, we consider ourselves as immigrants. And immigrants given citizenship becomes Singaporeans. So new immigrant citizens will take over and own this island when old immigrant citizens die or fade away. This is the natural state of affair. We don't have problems with that. We welcome new immigrants to become our citizens and take over from where the old immigrant citizens left off. And we will have a more vibrant city state still populated by Singaporeans. And old Singaporeans that cannot live up to the challenge, they just have to be sidelined. It is their problem. The difference in mindset between Singapore and the Gulf states is that we place the existence of the state above the existence of the people. The people can come and go, can die and disappear, the state lives forever. We live for the state.

Yes, we are back!

Hi guys and gals, we are back as before. Things are in disarray at the moment and I will need to reorganise them a bit, with transferring some recent posts back from redbeanforum, to be in better shape. Cheers.

How to locate mysingaporenews in Asian Correspondent

Hi guys, You will need to click onto the correspondents list in Asian Correspondents Homepage, on the top right hand corner. All the correspondents are listed there. There is a scrollbar below and I am at number 17. That's the start. See you.

First major step in inclusiveness

The youngest son of JBJ, the embittered politician who had lost practically every material thing that he owned for being in the opposition party, for taking on LKY and the PAP practically single handed, has been appointed to one of the most important govt organisation, the Public Service Commission. Such an appointment was unthinkable a few years back. And it takes a very open minded man like Eddie Teo, Chairman of PSC, to welcome him into the fold. The PSC is the main body that charts and plans the recruitment and career development of top civil servants. Philip Jeyaretnam is in a way now involved the govt machinery and working with the govt for the country. It is better to have him on the right side than to see him joining his brother, Kenneth, in opposition politics. The appointment does not guarantee that he would not go into opposition politics, but is a big declaration that the govt is willing to embrace talents from the other side. It is also a clear message that the history of the fathers will not affect adversely the fortunes of their children. This is modern Singapore, there is rule of law, there is inclusiveness and a place for all who is willing to contribute to the country. In dynastic China, once a member of a family fell from grace, the whole family would be banished together to the frontier. This is not the case in 21st Century Singapore. Our frontiers are only as far as Tuas or one of the islands a few minutes of boat rides away. We are an inclusive country.

The most coveted position in corporate Singapore

No, not the Presidency! No, not the SM or MM. The most coveted and prized possession in the market is Directorship to the Board of Directors of public companies. Many are known to grab as many as they could or available. The number is never enough. Some may have work and other commitments up to their noses, have no time for family and mistresses, but will still find time to accept the appointments of directorship. The benefits of being a director are obvious, money, status and rubbing shoulders with corporate Singapore. Is there any downside to such a lucrative appointment? So far don’t seem to have any, though legally there are responsibilities, heavy responsibilities. For any neglect or negligent in exercising the power of directorship against frauds and wrongdoings would mean the company losing money, and shareholders too. But have no fear. When things are not looking good, quickly submit a resignation letter and go for a holiday. Then start to scout for more new directorships. And if one is highly talented, there is no shortage of offers. The more talented one is the better the offers. And yes, please do not apply. Appointments are by invitations only.

From proactive to reactive

This seems to be the picture of HDB’s housing policy today. In the past we pride ourselves in being proactive, plan ahead, anticipate problems before they happen. Now it is reacting and reacting, and look and see and then react again. And HDB is proud to say that it reacted swiftly to the changes in demand for public housing and raised its supply from 6,000 flats to 13,500 flats this year. This is a whooping 125% off the mark. And, ‘If the take up of BTO flats remains strong, we will continue to push out more flats under the BTO next year – at least one (project) every month if necessary,’ said Mah. It also said this, “‘What actually happens a few years down the road is unknown. Also, demand is not constant – it varies from year to year, depending on economic and other factors, ‘he told Parliament.” True, true, anything that is more than two days is unknown. Even the next hour is unknown. No need to forecast, no need to plan ahead, no data of population growth to work with, don’t know how many foreigners coming in etc etc. It is so difficult to plan ahead. Let’s take the realistic and practical approach. When there is a demand, then build. Ya Koon can make half boiled eggs in 5 minutes or even 4 minutes on demand.

Q and A in Parliament

The Parlaiment sat yesterday and questions were raised on public housing and answers were given. The PSLE has just concluded and the results will be out this Thursday. Comparing the two, the students got to spot questions and try to prepare answers that will match the questions if they were asked. Sometimes the questions were guessed correctly, sometimes not. And the prepared answers may be good but only the examiner will have the final say. It is quite tough for the students really. In Parliament, things are much easier. The questions are known in advance and the answers prepared accordingly by the best brains. The answers will be perfect. No need any examiner to mark. Even if there is any marking, the scores will be a perfect 100. Questioners completely satisfied and the people providing the answers perfectly happy for a job well done. Next question please.

The writings on the walls

The graffitis are getting bigger and more colourful. They are painted on lift doors, doors of HDB flats, on windows, on staircases. They are the works of loan shark runners. Despite quite a few have been arrested the number of reported cases of loan shark harassment has gone up to 13,771 for Jan to Sep , exceeding the 11.789 cases reported for the whole of last year. What are the loan shark graffitis saying? The message is simple. This is loan shark country. They are the boss. Now the men in blue are up in arms to deal with them seriously. New laws are being passed with stiffer penalties, heavier fines and caning for the runners, and now also the masterminds and the big guys. The question is whether the new punishments are enough to deter loan shark activities which are criminal in nature? Maybe the MHA can take a leaf from SGX on how to solve irritating problems. The exchange is very disturbed by the need to buy back shares which investors/remisiers sold by mistake or carelessness. These are not crimes but silly mistakes. The number of shares or values maybe very small, tens of dollars or a couple of hundreds of dollars. The penalty for the first unsuccessful attempt to buy back is $1000 fine or 5% of the contract value whichever is higher. And the penalties will go up with each day of delay in buying back the shares. After due date +3, the penalty is $5000 per day until the shares are bought back. And there will be disciplinary actions as well. The penalties are so effective that the remisiers and small investors are trembling in fear of making such mistakes. This is what is called effectiveness. Would the loan sharks and their runners tremble in fear with the new laws and penalties? We will have to wait for the harassment stats to tell the story.