Is it so difficult?

Is it so difficult to forecast the number of doctors needed here? Hospitals are not built overnight. I think it takes much longer time to built hospitals than HDb flats. Why is there a sudden shortage of doctors when the numbers can easily be calculated with a pocket calculator? We don't produce enough doctors from our universities, not enough capacities. And many of our brightest have to get their medical education overseas. The sad part is that these students who went overseas were not part of the planning process to meet the demands of our hospitals. They went completely on their own motivation and may not even want to return if they can find jobs elsewhere. In the meantime we went on a recruitment blitz, grabbing anything that comes by while many of our best were scattering away from our shores. Is this another jamban case?

A different role for internet or new media

Obviously a new role has been developing for the internet media vis a vis the old media. The forte of old media is news reporting. They report news. Once reported it is no longer news and not worth reporting a second time. In the case of internet news, it is not merely reporting news per se. It is an expression of the people, begging for action, demanding for action over issues or cases of injustice or a cause etc etc. No doubt the plea may completely be ignored and nothing could come out of it. But ignoring a case or issue raised will reflect badly on the parties where action is needed. There is no escape. Not doing anything when an issue becomes the talk of the town can be embarrassing or even seen as being irresponsible, callous or aloofness or arrogance could also seep through on those responsible. Whatever, there is a price for being seen in a negative light. An example of old media and internet reporting is that of a fire. The old media will report the fire when it first came to notice. Whatever happens after the first news break is often not reported. No follow up unless the fire keeps burning for a few more days. In the case of internet, the fire will be reported. And if the fire fighters did not turn up in time, it will be reported. If the fire fighters did a bad job, it will be reported. If a good job, it may also be reported. And the fire can be reported everyday if there are other consequences resulting from the fire. An exception is the rogue diplomat case where the old media keeps pushing and covering the case. The old media is pursuing and hounding this case for justice that has never been seen before. The repeated reporting of the case should at least shame the Romanian govt for appointing a rogue as its representative to the diplomatic world, and now more disgusting is trying to protect him in all ways possible. It is not willing to face the court of common justice that a serious crime has been committed by a poor specimen of its govt and that it should do all it can to bring the animal to justice, that any honourable govt will do. In this case, it is good that the old media uses all its resources to keep reporting on the case to bring the criminal to justice, and the Romanian govt to its knee if it has to. It will be great if the old media could pursue issues in this way, tenaciously, without letting go. Maybe they should continue to report more on the high property prices and how badly it is affecting the citizens and emptying their pockets. For everyone who makes a handsome profit, some poor citizen is going to pay for it for a life time. Is it a good thing? The internet or new media has a job cut out for it, to pursue issues tenaciously, without letting go.

Myth 220 - The Myth of under consumption

Rich people will want to stay in C Class hospital wards. So it is necessary to have mean testing as C Class wards are highly subsidised. Rich people will want to buy 3rm or 4rm flats so there must be an income ceiling to bar them from buying HDB flats or else they will deprived the lower income from buying smaller HDB flats. I shall go on to say that rich people will want to drive China or Korean made cars and not Mercedes, BMWs or the more exotic brands. Oh, this is not true as these products are not subsidised. Is it true that rich people will want to under consume? Is under consumption good? Let me address the first question first. For every rich patient who wants to be admitted into C wards, there will be 10 less rich patients who want to be warded in A wards. And for every rich man who wants to buy a 4 rm or 3 rm HDB flat, there will be hundreds or thousands of less rich men who want to buy bigger flats or private properties. So what is the problem? The problem is the supply. If the people want to be admitted into C wards, why don't they build more C wards? If there are more people who want to buy smaller flats even if they earn more than $8,000, why don't they build more smaller flats and let them buy? Unfortunately restaurants are not subsidised. Otherwise they will have to conduct mean testing to make sure that the rich customers order only sharks fin and abalone and nothing else. And the second question, what's wrong with under consumption? Is it not prudent for people to spend lesser and save more? And this is very important to young people who have not much savings to start with, and that they should not be forced to buy properties that will eat up their incomes. It is crazy and irresponsible to demand that young people must buy expensive properties. And then later complain that people did not have enough savings for their retirements. This is real cock. Only fuckheads think that way. Be prudent, spend within your means, but dictated that if one has some money, they must spend it. Then complain that they don't have enough for retirement, then start to grab more money from their CPFs under all kinds of schemes for retirement. Are the fuckheads making sense or talking nonsense? To me it is full of contradictions, full of holes in the reasonings.

A good suggestion for Khaw Boon Wan

Khaw Boon Wan is terrified by the escalating medical cost in his hospitals and is still not able to control them. And since the escalating cost is unavoidable, the next best thing is to make sure that the people can afford to pay the hospital bills, or have money to pay the bills, through the money locked up in the Medisave of course. At the moment the minimum sum is slightly more than $30k and this could go up and up. In Boon Wan's view, this is simply not enough. He toying with the idea of pushing for legislation to transfer more funds from the people's CPF Ordinary Account to the Medisave Account to help the people so that the people can afford to pay their hospital bills. But with the HDB eyeing 30% of the people's income, the bulk coming from CPF, and other uses, touching the Ordinary Account again is going to hit the wall. The people will be angry if they cannot pay their HDB mortgages especially when HDB prices are so sure of going up and up as well. But have no fear. A blogger here has a brilliant suggestion. Just let every member of the family of the patient be allowed to share the medical bills. If there are 4 members, then it will mean at least $120k to take. Not enough? Did I hear not enough? Did I also hear that this is already done? Wow, if this is so, then $120k is truly not enough. In that case, this brilliant suggestion would not work and more money from the CPF Ordinary Account must go to the Medisave Account. This is the only way, the best way, to help the people pay their hospital and medical bills.

The mad rush has begun

Another 4 residential sites up for tender. This will add another 2000 homes and bring the total supply of new homes to 10,550 since the mad rush began. And the message from the govt is to say that there is enough land. So nerves are calmed and problems solved? The 10,550 figure appears big but how is this related to the demand? Is it just a number that is thrown up to appease the outrage of homebuyers, or is it a well thought out number based on statistics. There must be enough statistics to show what is the demand and how many more homes are needed. It cannot be a suka suka number or guesswork. What is the real demand or estimated demand for housing today and how does this number stand to satisfy the demand? Too much or too little. Or have we reached a state that no body really knows how big is the demand and how many more flats should be built to meet demand? I somehow got this kind of funny feeling. Then the next point is that if the demand today is for 10,550 flats or more, how could the demand be satisfied when they are, mind you, just tendering the site to contractors. In other words all these launches are at the preliminary stages and would take at least 3 more years to fruition. Or is this the best way to solve this housing problem? I think this if officially the best way. So, with all this last minute launches the home buyers shall now be happy, no more complaints. It must be quite a big relief to know that the jamban will be ready in 3 years while the shit is about to burst free. Just hold on, never mind if the face is red from squeezing and the hands and feet are cold. Hang on! The jamban will be ready soon.

What if there is no Medisave?

We have a first class hospital system that can meet the best in the world. This is something we can be proud of. The point in question is what if there is no Medisave? Why is Medisave such an important element in our health care system that such a question needs to be asked. For without Medisave, many will not have the money to pay. Without the patients paying and supporting the system, can the system continue to operate as it is? Can the system charge the kind of fees if the patients cannot afford the fees? Who shall be thankful for the wonderful healthcare system that we are having? My fear is that if cost is not managed, or if people think that Medisave is the ATM with unlimited supply of cash, or the cash can be increased by passing of legislation, the healthcare system will continue to be world best with world best fees and with the Medisave depleting rapidly.

The relevance and irrelevance of the Thai crisis

Let's start with the irrelevance first. The monarch is increasingly becoming irrelevant as he lies in the hospital bed. And with each breath fading, Ahbisit and his elitist party too are edging towards irrelevance as well. The Army which has pledged loyalty to the king may find it unnecessary to do so as minutes tick by. The signs of support from the Army for the elite will soon be no more as the Army knows that change is inevitable. What is so relevant about the happenings in Thailand? An elite or elitist party cannot survive without the ordinary people supporting it. The real support for a govt in a democracy must be from the people. This is also applicable in a fake democracy. Once the people is politicised, there is no turning back. And the elite, by nature a minority, cannot cling on to power for long. The king, the one that is holding everyone together, the one that can pull the strings, will one day be too feeble to do so, and may not be around to do it. And when that day comes, the pretenders will have a hard time staying in power. The true leaders, those with the support of the people, will be shoved into the seat of power. The elite may resort to all kinds of things to stay in power, including the Army. But the soldiers are not idiots. They will have a mind of their own. And when they perceive that the people is not in favour of the elite, they will change sides. Unless of course the Army is made up of cartoons or unthinking inanimate soldiers. Ahbisit is seeing the real stuff for the first time. His days in power is numbered without the Army that he thought would always be there. A new order is in the making the moment the king is out of the picture.

Housing, keeping the issue alive

Sue Ann Chia keeps the flame of unhappiness in housing alive by another article in the ST today. She calls on the govt to rethink and find sustainable answers to this problem. But should the govt when it does not see any problem? To the govt, or to Mah Bow Tan, the problem is with the choosy and hard to please flat applicants. Accepted that we have a good public housing system to start with, but are they flawless? One of the flaws that the system has morphed into is the application procedure. Apply when there is a new launch. If the applicant is unsuccessful, reapply and start anew. This procedure seriously affect the young professionals as their salaries could quickly got out of the $8k ceiling imposed by HDB within a few years from graduation. They are then forced to buy from the red hot resale market or private housing. Without much cash savings, they are hard put to foot the deposit. The new system in a way deprived these young professionals from buying their first flat from HDB if they did not quickly grab one that comes along. And this ignores those they were slow in courting a spouse and could not even apply in the first place. So it is their fault, or so they are high income earners and must buy more expensive housing. But many are prudent young people who are contented with just a 4 rm HDB flat. They are not demanding, just want to buy their first home without killing themselves with a big mortgage. So what's wrong with that? Their fault or HDB's fault? The most badly affected is this group of young professionals and rightly they should kick the arse of HDB and its procedures. In the old system, the application stayed with the HDB while waiting for the flat, using the income on registration. Maybe HDB may want to reconsider the first bite of the HDB cherry to all NS men regardless of their income. They have done their national service.

Would the next GE be different?

Last week we have heard some of the familiar responses to the opposition walkabouts. We are ready, we will keep in the touch with the people, we will not be complacent. Last Sunday Eng Heng spoke and welcomed the effort put in by the opposition to engage the voters early. Is there any difference in his comments? My first impression is that he appeared to be earnest in what he said about the opposition. No signs of wanting to fix them up. And no one upmanship comments. Is this the first indication of change, that our political culture is maturing and the abrasive style of the third worl is passe? I hope so, but would need to see what the other ministers and MPs have to say as we close in on the GE. Then of course we still need to see the real stuff during the campaigning and election proper. It would be nice to see the two camps engage in a contest of ideas to win over the people, and less of those nonsensical vitriol of the past. The people deserve a higher level of democracy, a political culture that they can be proud of. If after all these years we are still sticking to the styles of the past, then we are not progressing. The electorate has matured and will not tolerate monkeys and gangsters any more. Respect the electorate by showing them your best and not by knocking down the opponents by unfair and unethical means. The politicians owe it to the people to raise the level of political contest and to make themselves respectable and highly regarded by the people.

Myth 219, The myth of free market forces

Shall I call it the legend of free market forces now that myth has been elevated to the status of honouring our heroes? Our national heroes and their myths! I think I shall still stay with myth as what most people understand. Is our environment and life govern by the so called free market forces? I think 'astroturfing' has been working overtime all these years to get the people to believe that what happens to our lives is all governed by market forces and we can do nothing about it. From the number of babies born, school fees, housing, cars, population growth, medical fees, ministerial salaries, and yes, even our economy, boom or bust, are dictated by market forces or external forces. Lao Tzu must be smiling in his heavenly abode. I told you so 2,500 years ago. No need to do sweat, everything will just go on by itself. History has actually manifested itself in these ways, it is always boom and bust, according to the mandate of heaven. No amount of super talents will change the course of destiny. In a way, Hongkong is more subject to free market forces than us. In Hongkong, everything goes, with little govt intervention. The Hongkong govt knows that it is not that brilliant to be able to decide the fate of its people from cradle to grave. And they leave it as such. To each his own, the govt just provide the infrastructure and the system, and the people make the best of it. So we have the multimillion dollar villas in the mountains and the 300 sq ft dog kennels for the losers. And the best part is no one is complaining. Those living in the 300 sq ft homes accepted that. And the developers gave it to them, knowing that that is all these people can afford and are fit to live. No moral persuasion, no arguments of good or bad. No one claiming to be on moral high grounds. No rebellion or revolution as it is the order of things in a free wheeling enterprise. Do we have that kind of free market forces to determine our lives? No. If there is, our people will be living in 300 sq ft kennels as well. We plan carefully, every step and every inch. Our free market forces at work is as good as a myth to be served on the platter when needed. But in many ways we are better than Hongkong. Our people still got something like 600 sq ft to 900 sq ft of space to live in and at very affordable price. But there is danger that this may not be if we allowed astroturfing to get a free hand. If we keep talking about the 300 sq ft homes in Hongkong as an acceptable way of life, soon this will quietly sink into some silly heads. Then statisticians and smart people will use this as a justification and say it is ok. And when that song is played, we gonna get it. As things are fairly acceptable, let the myth of free market forces remain as a myth. Let not it becomes a legend.

How objective are the media

Astroturfing has been pointed out for booting recently as a deviant way of promoting a position through false or manipulated inputs through the internet. This in turn gives a skewed impression of the real issue at stake, the supports behind it and even the truth. Astroturfing has been singled out as a methodology used to influence and pressure the govt to act in a certain way. In other words, astroturfing is simply a manipulative way of conveying a message by a group of people for their own interests. Is this something new? All media, new media or old media, are they so innocent, so objective, so truthful, that they never intentionally push a position by bending backwards, with twisted logic, selective logic and even manipulating statistics to support a position? I am saying this in general, not directing at anyone. How many old and new media are guilty of the things astroturfing are now infamous for? None? Did I hear none? I think everyone knows the truth and how media, old and new, manipulate views, opinions and try to influence the way people see or look at an issue. The old and new media are just as good as astroturfing. Nothing more nothing less. Then there are worst forms of influencing the minds of people by state media and propaganda. Much more deadly and effective than what astroturfing is deemed to have done. The people of America, the free world, and the people of dictatorship and the authoritarian states, are all victims and targets of official media to think in the way the state wants them to think. So, what is new?

What comes after COE hike?

The surge in COE prices must have brought smiles to many people and to the state's coffer. Maybe some will filter down to help the needies. But what else will be affected by this COE good news? The car owners will be affected immediately and positively with the resale values going up. On the negative side, taxis and buses, I think they need COEs too. So be prepared for higher taxi fares and maybe bus fares. Hopefully the MRT is not affected by COE hikes and would not raise MRT fares. But their staff travel by cars and vans. So the hike still affects their cost. All transport agencies or businesses will be affected if the cost of vehicles goes up. And this will just trickle down the line for sure. This is one thing that must be passed down to the consumers. School buses? The cost of living will move up nicely.

270% interest rate per annum

A blogger asked me for my view on the 270% interest rate that was raised by a forumer in the ST forum. The writer said that this is a possibility provided by the Money Lenders Act. I did not pay too much attention to such numbers as I have been desensitised by the greed in the financial system, where exploitation for quick profit is now seen as a merit and deserving great rewards. But since I was asked, I took the question to the cesspit for a little discussion. The PhD holders in the cesspit thinktank, all bought of course, were very adept in this kind of issue. They have all made their millions doing the same thing, and their only conscience is their own pockets. So what would they say? No issue at all, all corners are covered. In the first place it is legal. Period. Anything that is legal is legal, faultless and blameless. Only those who do not know how to exploit the legal road would kpkb about such things. The beneficiary will just laugh their way to the banks. The next point is that it is completely transparent. The fine prints are made known to the borrower, and the seller representatives were well trained to tell the borrower all the risk involved. No cheating, no undisclosed information, no misrepresentation. This leads to the third point. Willing buyer and willing seller. No one is being forced to take the loan. And yes, this is covered under caveat emptor. And this is a legit business. Business means making profit. The higher the profit the better the business. And this is good for the economy as well. How else could people make so much money to buy so many million dollar properties? The whole thing generates wealth and a vibrant economy. These are what the cesspit thinkers came out with and all very reasonable, logical, legitimate. I am quite surprise that they could think so clearly. So where is the problem? No problem at all. In all business transactions, there must be the suckers and the big winners. Somehow I feel so nice reporting their findings. I think I have been infected by the E1U1 flu bug. Maybe a few more practices I can start to apply to join the Elite and Uncaring class.

It is all market forces

Now what shall I write this morning with COE hitting heaven and Sheng Siong still in the limelight? Shall I rejoice that my car can now be sold more than the price I bought? Between the two hot issues now, both have a same vein to stretch. COE prices are the result of normal supply and demand. No one is at fault. The system, like the BTO scheme, is well designed and the best. The govt has done it part. So let's live with the high prices. The alternative is to have all our roads turning into car parks. So bite the bullet and pay. For those who cannot afford to pay, please, go and take public transport. If you can't pay, you don't deserve to be driving a private car. This is the reality of life. Got money got everything. No money, diam diam. As for Sheng Siong, HDB has stepped in to warn that if prices go too high, Sheng Siong would not have enough stall holders to sell produce in the wet markets. Have no fear, Sheng Siong can run all the stalls by itself. This is business. Sheng Siong is out there to do a business and will respect market forces. If all the current stall holders quit, the better. I am confident that Sheng Siong, being a successful business empire, will have everything thought out and planned. No one should interfere with market forces. The stall holders can go, the customers can refuse to patronise, doesn't matter. And Sheng Siong being the market owner, is free to set its rentals and the tenure of the rental. It is free market practice. Now who is out there trying to temper with this classic economic theory of growth? If Sheng Siong can raise fee another 50%, and if there are stall holders who are willing to pay for it, so be it. The Ah Sohs and Ah Mahs who think the prices are too high, can take a walk. I mean they can take a bus or MRT to another market to buy. No need to depend on Sheng Siong if they are not happy. Then there is FairPrice always ready to serve them at fair prices. What's there to complain about? Storms in the tea cup! Now, what am I saying? Early in the morning, a bit blur like sotong. I really like the way I talk down to the losers: )

Pig talk and pig logic

This guy was very hungry and he went to the pig to ask for bacon. The pig snorted. 'Wait for my piglets to be born, and another one year they should be ready for the table. Now go away.' So the hungry man went away, hungry, and waiting for the bacon to be ready. The pig had solved his need for bacon, to be delivered in a year's time. Would the hungry man survived while waiting for the bacon to arrive? Or would he find a subsitute to ease his hunger pang? Oink, oink, oink.

Trading mentality, changing places

We have this great tradition as a trading port. I think this has been in our blood for too long that it is becoming a part of us, our culture and mentality. We will trade everything, anything, for money. We sold our power stations probably seeing their yields or future not going to be too bright. Now we are going to India to buy power stations because the growth potential for power is very promising. We have developed ourselves into an education hub to earn more foreign currency. Education as a business can generate a lot of revenue if the fees are high enough. And we are very successful in getting foreigners to come here for their education. In the meantime, our children will not have enough places here and have to go elsewhere for their education. We have limited places for medical education. And many of our bright students have to go overseas to be trained as doctors. But we also have a shortage of doctors here. So we import cheap doctors from other countries to fill the gap. Isn't it funny? We tell our not so talented to go overseas to work. In their place we import foreign talents to replace them. Singaporeans sell their properties here just to be able to buy properties elsewhere. All these are very good and healthy for the economy. Just keep trading and exchanging goods and services. One day we may even trade our not so marketable parents for new and more efficient parents.

A simple way to solve the housing problem

The ST has a full page coverage on the housing problem that is making a small section of the population crying foul. It even features replies by Mah Bow Tan on the issue. Would it make any difference to the problem? Nay, except to make it worst. There is really no problem at all, and it is so easy to let the problem, if it is real, to go away by adopting a few simple measures. The first thing is to prevent the real estate agents and developers from talking up the market and frightening would be buyers of homes. And the speculators seeing so much money can be made will keep the musical chair game going on. At the moment the agents and developers are just adding fire to an already over heated oven. And some organisations are setting up indices on housing prices to tell where it is heading. Another no no. It can be very alarming as well. The third thing is to make sure that there is a blackout on housing news. Don't talk about it, don't report about it. After a while it will die down naturally, and the problem will be no problem anymore. But there is still a loophole in the internet. The nasty and irritating bloggers will want to continue to keep the topic alive. This hole must also be closed. Then all will be peace under heaven. The problem will go away if it is not in the news anymore. Like that can or not?

Another avenue for speculation

Yes, another opportunity presented itself for speculators to make money. Other than speculating in properties, the latest is COEs. With the prices going up dramatically, many people are making big money from trading COEs. And don't forget the market for second hand cars. Back to the good old days when a car's value appreciates over time, like properties. Buy now, use it for a couple of years for free, and sell at a profit. Fantastic deals. Now Singaporeans should rush out to buy properties or cars to make instant money. And if COEs go back to $100k, wow, bee tang again. Reinvest the profits in more cars and more properties and leverages, the more leverages the more profits. Making money is so easy here. Time for celebration.

Missing a golden opportunity to make money

Our population has surged more than a million in the last 10 years, and many thanks to the new immigrants, PRs and new citizens. And many more are queuing to come in. If this is the case, why don't we place a small fee for application or successful application to be a PR or new citizen? If the demand is real, if we are that desirable, there must be a value for something that is so good. What is the price to be a PR or new citizen? In real terms, PRs and new citizens tend to benefit a lot in financial terms through the buying of HDB flats and all the subsidies in medical, education and other govt services. Then there are the occasional angpows that the govt is giving out in subsidies for conservancy fees, in New Singapore Shares or special govt handouts. All these are real monies that go to the PRs and new citizens the moment they are accepted. Shouldn't they be priced in to bcome one of us? A $100 application fee, a $5,000 approval fee for PRs or a $10k fee to become citizen should be cheap compare to the immediate gains awaiting them. How come no one is thinking of making some money out of this business? Oh, they have not privatise ICA. I think they should and make it a profit centre.

Is this a new kind of discrimination?

There have been complaints that employers discriminated against job applicants in their job advertisements by stating preferences for race, language or religion. This has incurred the wrath of the authorities and official statements have been made against such discriminatory practices. There have been promotional material and advertisements by NTUC to recruit employees based on merits alone. Below is an extract of a Shin Min Daily article, According to a Shin Min Daily report yesterday, a jobless Singaporean who went to a Bread Talk outlet for an walk-in interview was told by a Malaysian HR manager to back off: “We don’t want to hire Singaporeans. We look after our own first.” The Singaporean felt slighted and walked away in anger. When contacted by the media, Bread Talk claimed that they hire more “locals” than foreigners and is currently “investigating” the matter. It is not uncommon for HR managers who are foreigners to bring in their “own kind” at the exclusion of native Singaporeans,.... My god, how could this be true, Singaporeans being discriminated in their own country for employment. I hope the investigation proves that this is not the case. Singaporeans are the first choice for employment in Singapore. It cannot be otherwise. Please report to MOM if any company is practising discrimination against Singaporeans. The Ministry and NTUC will surely stand up to protect Singaporeans for jobs.